Back To School
by kelbebop-phoebenpiper
Summary: The Wildcats return to school for their senior year after the summer at Lava Springs. Has everything changed, or is it back to the old routine? Next story in our "Extra Innings" universe; follows "Clueless". ChadRyan slash.
1. Act I

ACT I 

Eleanor Darbus arrived in her classroom bright and early Wednesday morning. Although she'd spent the last two days here at East High, attending boring teacher in-services and preparing her classroom, she felt that today was truly her first day back, for this was the day the students were returning.

Eleanor saw the start of each new school year as an empty stage, full of possibilities. This year in particular was sure to be grand because, after three years of nurturing her little chicks, her homeroom students were finally going to be seniors. Eleanor was looking forward to helping her little birds spread their wings and soar like eagles into their bright futures.

And none of them were likely to soar as high or shine so bright as those wonderful, multi-talented Evans twins. Never in all her 23 years of teaching had Eleanor worked with two such gifted young performers. And now that they were mature seniors, their stars were likely to shine even brighter in the theatrical firmament. In fact, Eleanor had already decided that the Drama Club would stage an additional production this year, a senior showcase of "the Scottish play" in the late spring to bring Ryan and Sharpay's East High acting careers to a spectacular close.

As if her mere thoughts had conjured him up, Ryan Evans suddenly entered her classroom with a friendly "Good morning, Ms. Darbus! Welcome back!"

"Same to you, Ryan," Eleanor said as she took in his appearance. Although Ryan hadn't grown any taller over the summer, his face had lost most of its baby fat, transforming him into the handsome young man she'd always known he'd become. "My, how you've matured! Did you enjoy your summer?"

Ryan smiled dreamily. "OH yeah."

Eleanor recognized that look. "Ah -- young love. I still remember MY seventeenth summer -- hoofing away as a mere chorus girl until the leading man suddenly picked me out to be his."

Eleanor sighed at the happy memory, reminding herself that she still needed to mail Ross a gift for his recent commitment ceremony.

"A chorus girl?" Ryan asked, genuinely interested as only the Evanses truly were. "What show did you do?"

"_Brigadoon _ -- but only a small community theatre production," Eleanor admitted. "Our little shows in Las Cruces were nothing compared to the lavish extravaganzas you and your sister have starred in."

Truth be told, Eleanor felt a twinge of jealousy at the opportunities that the Evans twins had had. Perhaps, if SHE'D had those same opportunities, she might have made it big on Broadway. But, alas, her parents couldn't afford to buy her way into an exclusive performing arts college, so she'd had to attend New Mexico State instead.

Not that she regretted becoming a teacher -- especially when she got to work with such talented students as Ryan and Sharpay Evans.

"So," Ryan asked as his fellow students began trickling into the classroom, "are you teaching freshman Intro to Theatre 7th period again this year?"

"Unfortunately!"

She had spent YEARS trying to convince the East High administration that 7th period electives should be reserved for motivated upperclassmen, not yawning, squirrelly freshmen; yet, as always, her complaints had fallen upon deaf ears.

But her answer seemed to be exactly the one Ryan had wanted to hear, for he grinned excitedly.

"Then can I be your T.A.?" he asked, handing her the registration form.

Eleanor couldn't believe it. "Oh Ryan, that would be a dream come true!"

She took the form and set it down on her desk, adjusting her glasses before starting to fill it out.

"Not only can you help me grade, but I can use your talents for demonstrations. The freshmen are always atrocious at reading scenes aloud. And I usually don't cover much on choreography, since it's only an intro class, but perhaps I can get you to…."

Eleanor trailed off as she stood to hand Ryan his signed form and found that he was no longer standing in front of her desk.

Instead, he was standing over next to the desk of Coach Bolton's son, engaged in an animated conversation with that Danforth boy.

Eleanor might've taken more time to consider this unlikely pairing if, at that moment, Sharpay hadn't entered the classroom, obediently followed by Zeke Baylor, who seemed to have grown a foot taller over the summer.

"Welcome back, Ms. Darbus!"

Sharpay was all smiles as she grabbed a baggie full of cookies from atop the pile of books Zeke was carrying and handed it to her teacher. "These are for you."

Eleanor took them happily as Zeke protested "Hey!"

"Chocolate chip!" Eleanor realized as she eagerly peered into the bag. "My favorite!"

"I know!" Sharpay said, smiling sweetly before turning to glare at Zeke, who had unceremoniously dropped her books with a thud upon her desk and stomped to the back of the classroom.

Eleanor watched with a smile as the pretty blonde girl took her seat as if it were a throne and not just a battered public school desk.

As a teacher, Eleanor knew it wasn't right to play favorites, but she couldn't help herself -- even though Ryan was probably more talented overall, Eleanor couldn't help but prefer his sister. Sharpay reminded her so much of herself at that age -- beautiful, talented, ready to take on whatever wondrous opportunity might arise in her future.

RRRRRRRINNNNNGGGGG!

Which, at the moment, was merely homeroom.

"Okay, people, let's settle down," Eleanor Darbus said, clapping her hands together for emphasis as the last of the students straggled in to take their seats. She adjusted her glasses, taking in all the fresh young faces that no longer looked quite so young.

Fighting away the tear that formed in the corner of her eye, she pronounced, "And let me be the first to welcome you to your senior year here at East High."

----

"So I was thinking here we'd have the tenors singing counterpoint to the sopranos," Kelsi said, pointing out a section of handwritten music manuscript in her notebook. "What do you think, Ryan?"

Ryan took the notebook from Kelsi for a closer look, humming to himself for a few moments before returning the music to Kelsi with a bright smile. "That's gonna sound great, Kels! Have you played it for Ms. Darbus yet?"

"Not yet," Kelsi admitted with a sheepish smile as she flipped back a couple pages in the spiral-bound notebook.

Ryan marveled at Kelsi's modesty -- he was so used to dealing with Sharpay's ego that he found the composer's humility endearing.

"I wanted to finish all the changes in the second act and present them to her all at once," Kelsi explained. "See, like here, in the entr'acte." She slid the notebook back across the table to Ryan, pointing out a passage at the top of the page. "I rearranged it to feature the lower voices in the orchestra more, since we've got such a strong trombone section in the marching band this year."

Ryan glanced over the scrawled notes, again humming to himself, grinning up at his friend as he finished. "Perfect! Now we just need to do some heavy recruiting in the Marching Wildcats and we're set."

Kelsi grinned knowingly. "Leave that to me. I'm hitting up all the music classes. We're gonna build an awesome orchestra by the time rehearsals for the winter musical start."

"You, my dear, are a genius," Ryan gushed. "I think this year's winter musical will be the best one East High's ever seen."

Kelsi blushed, rolling her eyes. "I don't know about that."

Ryan laughed as he gave the brim of Kelsi's hat a playful tug. "No, it will! The music is fantastic, you're already recruiting for the orchestra, and it's only the first day of school!"

The excitement of the day was going to his head, but he didn't care and gave into it fully. "I do believe this calls for a toast."

Ryan raised his milk carton in salute, arching an eyebrow at Kelsi. "Well, c'mon! Don't leave me hanging!"

Laughing, Kelsi raised her own milk carton. "You're such a dork. What're we toasting?"

"How about...senior year?"

Kelsi lowered her carton, a wistful look on her face. "I've still got another year to go."

"Oh yeah."

Kelsi had spent so much time with Ryan and the Wildcats this summer that Ryan had completely forgotten she was only a junior. "Well, then, let's toast to…the best school year ever."

Kelsi grinned, and the pair "clinked" their cartons together, trying not to giggle as they sipped their milk.

"So, do I get a sneak preview of anything else from your brand-new, world premiere musical?" Ryan smiled winsomely as he chewed on a carrot stick.

Kelsi nodded enthusiastically. "Let me show you the song for the end of Act One. I kinda wrote it with Gabriella in mind, so I really hope she--"

"Dude, where've you been?"

At the sound of Chad's voice, Ryan and Kelsi looked up as one to see him standing next to the drama club table, arms crossed over his chest.

"Eating lunch," Ryan said, as if it were obvious from the emptied plastic baggies lying on the cafeteria table in front of him. Patting the bench next to him, Ryan added, "I saved you a seat."

Chad let out a snort. "ME eat at the drama geek table? Get serious." Chad pointed to a table down on the first floor -- the JOCK table. "I saved YOU a seat -- why didn't you come eat with us? I thought we were gonna…you know…eat together."

The jock looked around uncomfortably, obviously nervous that someone might overhear their conversation and decide the two boys were more than "just friends". Ryan had noticed Chad doing that a lot today -- every time they spoke in the halls, in fact. Ryan was started to get really annoyed.

He also found it annoying that Chad had referred to them as "drama geeks" -- had Chad learned nothing from their time together? Ryan found it ironic that over the summer Lava Springs, an exclusive country club, had become a sort of melting pot of East High, where jocks, smart kids, and yes, even "drama geeks" could all hang out as one big happy family.

But here it was, only halfway through the first day back at school, and already the barriers were going up again. Looking down at the students below, Ryan noticed that even Gabriella was back sitting with the smart kids, NOT with Troy.

"I thought we were gonna eat together, too," Ryan said, pouting as he stared up at Chad.

"Hey, I know," Kelsi offered helpfully. "Maybe you guys could sit together at…a NEUTRAL table…over there…or something." She pointed to a table in the corner that only had a few kids sitting at one end.

Chad laughed. "Dude, why would I want to sit with a bunch of losers?"

"Thanks for calling me a loser," Ryan snapped back angrily, not sure why Chad being such a jerk all of a sudden.

"I didn't mean you! I want to sit with you. But I wanna sit with my FRIENDS, too. Just sitting with you...that would be…I mean, just the two…people might think…."

Ryan put up his hands. "Okay, okay, I get your point. But you know, I want to sit with MY friends at lunch, too," he said, gesturing towards Kelsi and the other drama club members.

"Then how about a schedule?" Kelsi suggested cheerfully, causing the two boys to stare at her blankly. "You know -- on Mondays and Wednesdays Ryan can sit with you, Chad, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays Chad can sit with you, Ryan…or something..." She trailed off self-consciously.

Chad looked confused. "But what about Fridays?"

"It's just a suggestion -- you guys would have to work out the details amongst yourselves." Kelsi stared down at her chocolate pudding, suddenly intensely interested in it.

Ryan was impressed. "How'd you get so smart, Kels?" he asked.

Kelsi shrugged modestly. "I'm a middle child -- that's what I do."

RRRRRRRINNNNNGGGGG!

Chad looked at Ryan. "You wanna get together after school and…talk about our 'schedule'?"

The glint in Chad's eye told Ryan that there probably wouldn't be a lot of talking going on.

"Sounds good to me," he said as he stood up, grinning meaningfully at Chad as he grabbed the remains of his lunch to toss in the nearby garbage can.

"Okay, cool! Well, I gotta run. I've got Rosten 5th period and he gives detention if you're late -- even on the first day! Catch you later."

Ryan watched Chad rush out, smiling after the retreating boy. He then put his arm around Kelsi's shoulder as they walked together out of the cafeteria.

"Whatever would I do without you, Kels?"

The short girl grinned up at Ryan. "I guess you'd just hafta sing _a capella_."

----

As Coach Moore lectured at the front of the garage, Troy completed his inventory of the toolboxes and moved on to do the same with the drawers along the wall.

When Troy's dad had first suggested being a T.A. 4th period instead of taking a long lunch like most of his friends, Troy had balked at the idea. But after learning that Gabriella had AP Chem 4th period and Coach Moore was looking for a teacher's aide for auto shop, Troy had changed his mind. After all, being a T.A. would look good on college applications, and tinkering with cars all semester would be a blast.

Besides, this past summer at Lava Springs had made Troy realize how much he enjoyed teaching. Although he hadn't been able to improve Ryan's golf game, Troy still felt his golf lessons had been a success.

Deep down, Troy knew he'd never make it to the NBA, so having a solid back-up plan of becoming a teacher, and maybe even a coach one day, made him a little less afraid of his future.

Meanwhile, he'd have a fun way to pass the time while Gabi was in class.

RRRRRRRINNNNNGGGGG!

As the students rushed out of the garage, Coach Moore walked over to where Troy was working.

"How's it coming, Bolton?" Coach Moore asked.

Troy shrugged. "I'm done with the toolboxes, but I've only just started inventorying the drawers. Do you want me to stay and--"

"No, of course not," Coach Moore interrupted, patting Troy on the back. "It's only the second day of school -- we're not gonna get to any actual cars until at LEAST the middle of next week, so you'll have plenty of time in class to finish up."

Troy smiled, relieved -- he hadn't really wanted to stay and work during his lunch period, but he knew the sorts of sacrifices teachers sometimes had to make and figured teacher's aides had to make the same.

"Dude, c'mon!"

Troy turned to see Chad beckoning him from the doorway.

"The bell rang, like, AGES ago! Do you want all the food to be gone?"

Troy laughed -- Chad was somewhat prone to exaggeration…and to hunger.

"Hey, Danforth," Coach Moore greeted, "we miss you on the team this year. Why didn't you come out for cross country?"

Troy could see that his best friend looked uncomfortable being put on the spot by his ex-coach, so Troy quickly answered for him, "Oh, Chad's real busy this year, right, Chad?"

"Oh…yeah -- real busy," Chad echoed.

"That's too bad," Coach Moore said. "We could really use a strong athlete like you on the team. It's not too late to change your mind, you know."

Chad nodded. "I'll…think about it," he said noncommittally.

"Well, we better get to lunch," Troy said hastily, heading for the door. "See you tomorrow, Coach."

"Yeah…uh…later, Coach," Chad called back as the two boys headed down the hall.

As soon as they were well away from the garage, Chad put his arm around Troy's shoulders. "Thanks for saving me back there, bro."

"Of course -- that's what brothers are for," Troy said. "But now I'm curious -- why DIDN'T you go out for cross country this year?"

Chad shrugged. "I just didn't feel like it. Cross country takes up SO much time, and I just wanted to have some free time this fall…to just…hang out…you know…with--"

"Ryan," Troy finished for him, rolling his eyes. It seemed like Ryan influenced ALL Chad's decisions these days.

Troy couldn't believe that he'd only found out about the two boys last Sunday -- it seemed so obvious now how much Chad and Ryan liked each other.

Like the way Chad was now blushing.

"And I want to have time to hang out with YOU, too," Chad added weakly.

"Yeah, whatever," Troy teased, playfully shoving his friend. "I saw the way you two rushed off together after school yesterday -- you didn't even have time to say goodbye to your oldest, bestest friend," he teased.

"Sorry."

Chad shrugged guiltily, but Troy could see that twinkle in his friend's eye that always appeared when he was thinking of Ryan. "He and I were just kinda--"

Troy put up his hands in protest. "Dude, I don't wanna hear the details," he teased before a thought occurred to him. "Wait a minute -- YOU may not be busy now, but what about Ryan? He won't have much free time once the fall play rehearsals start, right?"

Chad laughed. "It's just a play, dude -- that can't take up too much of his time, right?"

Troy remembered his experiences working with the East High drama club last winter -- lunches singing with Kelsi in the music room, afternoons working on the stage with Ms. Darbus, evenings spent running lines with Gabi, even daylong tech rehearsals on the weekends. Being in the play had been even more time-consuming than when they'd been practicing for the big championship basketball game!

But before Troy could mention any of this, Gabriella suddenly appeared at his side.

"Hey, mister -- long time, no see," she teased.

Troy checked his watch. "Three entire periods," he teased back. "Yeah, it feels like an eternity!"

He put his arm around her shoulders to pull her close and she snuggled up against him. Looking down at her, she looked so beautiful that Troy actually considered kissing her right here in the school hallway, school rules about PDA's be damned.

"Oh puh-lease," Chad groaned, rolling his eyes at the couple.

Troy laughed, suddenly remembering he and Gabi weren't alone.

Turning to Chad, Troy teased, "Careful there, bro -- you're starting to sound like Sharpay."

Chad gasped in horror as Gabriella giggled.

"It's okay, Chad," Gabriella said. "It's common to adopt the verbal mannerisms of the people you hang out with."

Chad only looked marginally relieved. "Yeah, well, you two gotta promise me that if I start DRESSING like Sharpay, you'll put me outta my misery."

Troy laughed before turning back to his adorably smart girlfriend. "Care to join us for lunch today? Or are you and Taylor doing something?"

"Nope, I'm free," Gabriella said, smiling at him as they approached the cafeteria. "Taylor's busy organizing the school dance for next Friday."

"So I see," Troy said as they entered the cafeteria.

Being hung from the balcony by two freshmen was a 30-foot banner. Taylor stood below, barking out directions on how to hang it straight.

The banner declared:

"Back to School dance

7-10pm, Friday, Aug. 31

Cost: $5 per person

Sponsored by Student Council"

Troy smiled. "Taylor seems to be enjoying her new StuCo role," he commented.

Gabriella nodded. "She even volunteered to be in charge of the dance. You know, I think this summer was really good for Taylor -- I think organizing the activities at Lava Springs really boosted her self-confidence."

Chad laughed. "Taylor needs more self-confidence like she needs a megaphone."

Troy laughed. Taylor's barked orders were clearly reverberating throughout the entire cafeteria without any amplification, much to the chagrin of the two freshmen, who were obviously trying their best.

"So, Troy," Gabriella said sweetly, looking hopefully up at her boyfriend. "About next Friday...?"

Troy nodded, unable to resist her coy smile and fluttering eyelashes. "Of course we'll go together."

Gabriella simply smiled, happily leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Yo, dude."

Troy was surprised to hear Chad calling to him from the lunch line -- Troy hadn't even noticed that his friend had left his side.

"You gonna flirt or you gonna eat?"

Chad indicated that he was holding a spot for his best friend.

Troy looked down at Gabi, who nodded at him.

"Go ahead," she said, starting to take a step towards her best friend. "I'm gonna go talk to..."

"Taylor?" Troy finished for her, finally starting to realize a bit of how the female mind works.

Gabriella's blush confirmed it.

Troy smiled, adding, "Tell her I can't wait to see the decorations she's got planned."

Troy watched Gabi practically skip over to her best friend, obviously eager to share the news about her upcoming date.

As soon as she was gone, Troy's stomach grumbled. He sauntered over to Chad, thankful his friend had saved him a spot in line.

----

"Dude, why are you even here? YOU don't have detention."

Not that Chad didn't WANT Ryan there -- it was the only thing making detention bearable.

Ryan shrugged. "I'm the TA for Ms. Darbus's last period, so when I saw that you had detention with her after school, I thought I'd stay and keep you company." He smiled winsomely. "You lucky person, you."

Chad chuckled as he struggled to pry open the can of paint with his fingers. "Oh yeah, 'lucky' is totally the word I would use to describe myself right now," he teased, waiting for Ryan to hand him the screwdriver that was sitting nearby.

"Hey, be nice!" Ryan exclaimed, giving Chad's arm a playful smack. "Or maybe I WON'T take you to that awesome brick-oven pizza place before the dance next week."

"Huh?" Chad asked in confusion as he reached across Ryan to grab the screwdriver himself.

"You know." Ryan raised his eyebrows, nodding his head toward Chad meaningfully. "The back-to-school dance next Friday? Don't tell me you haven't seen all the signs around school! I know you aren't THAT clueless!"

Now it was Chad's turn to give his friend a teasing smack. "Oh, and you were telling ME to be nice?!"

The boys shared a laugh as Ryan attempted to hit Chad back, prompting Chad to grab the other boy's wrists in an effort to protect himself. The roughhousing might have escalated further had Ms. Darbus not angrily cleared her throat at the sudden disturbance in her quiet afternoon detention.

"Sorry, Ms. Darbus," Ryan whispered sheepishly.

"Evans...such a troublemaker," Chad teased under his breath, smirking at the other boy. "Here I am, hard at work painting YOUR scenery, and YOU'RE just causing a scene."

"Shut up!" Ryan hissed, unable to suppress his own grin.

Chad worked in silence for a few moments, aimlessly dragging his paintbrush across the wooden box that he supposed was some piece of scenery for the fall play. Either that, or Darbus was using student slave labor to redecorate her house.

He almost forgot Ryan was sitting in front of him until the other boy gently nudged him with his foot. Chad looked up and met Ryan's gaze, swallowing back the snarky comment he'd planned to make as soon as he saw the other boy smiling at him.

"So..." Ryan began, smiling hopefully. "The dance...?"

Chad nodded. "I'm in. Sounds like fun. So who are you taking?"

Ryan laughed. "Is that a trick question?"

"No," Chad said, not sure what Ryan was talking about. "If we're gonna double-date, I wanna know who you're going with."

Ryan's smile began to fade. "What?" he asked, looking extremely confused.

Chad sighed frustratedly, realizing he was going to have to spell it out for Ryan. "Who are you taking to the dance?"

Ryan looked at Chad warily, and his answer sounded more like a question. "You?"

Now it was Chad's turn to laugh. "Yeah, right. I'm going with Taylor, dude."

Ryan's eyes turned steely, and Chad felt as if the temperature in the theatre had suddenly dropped.

"You're going with Taylor?"

Ryan's voice sounded calm, but Chad almost got the feeling like he was upset about something.

Chad nodded. "I asked her yesterday afternoon. She's all excited about dancing with me after my lessons this summer. Of course, I don't think we'll be doing a lotta foxtrot to Christina, but--"

"I can't believe you!"

The intensity of Ryan's voice made Chad stop mid-sentence.

"Whoa, dude -- is something wrong?"

Ryan let out a bitter laugh. "Is something wrong? IS SOMETHING WRONG?!"

Ryan jutted his chin out as he silently glared at Chad, letting out an angry breath through his nose like a bull that was about to charge.

Chad just stared in confusion at the blond boy, not sure what to say, afraid of pissing off Ryan more.

Finally Ryan shook his head. "Sharpay was right all along," he said coldly before leaping to his feet and starting to walk away.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Chad said, dropping the paintbrush as he dodged around the wooden box to run after Ryan. Chad put a hand on Ryan's shoulder to stop him, but the blond boy angrily wrenched away from his touch.

However, Chad wasn't going to let Ryan dodge his question. "Dude, what do you mean, 'Sharpay was right'?"

Ryan shook his head. "Sharpay told me that I was getting my hopes up for nothing. That it was just a summer fling. That once school started back, a star basketball player was never gonna admit that he actually cared about me."

Ryan sighed before adding quietly under his breath. "I hate it when Sharpay's right."

What the hell?! What was Ryan's problem?

"Dude, I DO care about you. You know that."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

"Evans, I--"

"Mr. Danforth," Ms. Darbus called from across the stage. "Your detention isn't over just--"

"In a minute, Darbus!" Chad snapped at his teacher. He then turned back to Ryan, saying, "What's your deal, Evans? Why are you acting like this?"

Ryan just stared at him for a minute before answering quietly, "I thought we were gonna go to the dance together."

Chad hadn't expected that answer, and his automatic response was to laugh. "Are you serious?"

Ryan turned on his heels and started to march off, but Chad instantly chased after him again.

"Okay, I guess you're serious. But dude, seriously? Go to a dance together? That would be like admitting to EVERYONE that--"

"You like me?" Ryan finished for him. "Yeah. Silly me to think you'd want to do that."

"Dude, you know how much I like you. But I just can't--"

"Mr. Danforth," Ms. Darbus said, suddenly at Chad's side. She grabbed his ear and started pulling him back towards his painting, saying, "This is detention, not stand-around-and-chat-with-your-buddies time."

"But--" Chad began, but his protest died on his lips as he realized Ryan was already gone.

He sighed, feeling confused and guilty for upsetting Ryan.

But there wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment, so he reluctantly picked up his paintbrush. "Yes, Ms. Darbus."

END OF ACT I: TO BE CONTINUED FOLLOWING A BRIEF INTERMISSION ;)


	2. Act II

Back to School -- Act II

"So what do you think?"

Taylor was hoping for an excited thumbs-up from her best friend, but instead Gabriella merely gave an unenthusiastic shrug.

"It's cute -- but don't you think it's too dressy?" Gab asked as Taylor twirled around in front of the dressing room mirror. "I mean it's just a back-to-school dance, it's not a formal. In fact, I don't think most of the girls are even wearing dresses."

Taylor shot her best friend a doubtful look.

Gabriella giggled. "Okay, so I'm probably gonna wear a dress. But not a fancy one like that."

Taylor sighed, shutting the dressing room door so she could start changing out of this gorgeous dress she still had her heart set on.

"Besides," Gab continued from behind the door, "I totally think you should get those capris you tried on back at Macy's -- I think you looked really cute in them."

"Yeah…but will CHAD think I look cute in them?"

Her best friend didn't answer right away, which was exactly what Taylor was afraid of.

"I knew it!" she said, standing on her toes so she could peer over the dressing room door at her friend. "They made my hips look big, didn't they?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No, not at all!"

Although Gab was the smartest girl Taylor knew, besides herself of course, Gab wasn't a very good liar.

Taylor dropped back down to continue undressing. "Capris ALWAYS make my hips look big," she complained.

That was the only disadvantage of clothes shopping with her best friend -- Gabriella was so petite that she made Taylor feel like a heifer.

Not that it was her fault -- Gabriella couldn't help being tiny and perfect.

And other than the few twinges of jealousy Taylor sometimes felt, she couldn't have asked for a better best friend.

"That's not true," Gab insisted. "You look cute in capris."

She giggled before adding, "Besides, if your sister's Boy Rules have taught you anything, you should know that guys don't even NOTICE what you wear, especially guys like Chad."

"I guess that's true," Taylor conceded, hanging up the discarded dress and slipping on her shoes before opening up the dressing room door.

"Of course it's true," Gab said as they started to walk out. "When was the last time you heard Chad comment on someone's outfit?"

Taylor laughed. "Never. Except maybe a snarky comment or two about some of Ryan's ensembles."

And he didn't even do that anymore, Taylor realized as she handed the unwanted clothes back to the attendant.

"And could you hold this one for me?" she sheepishly asked the girl, holding out the fancy dress she'd just tried on.

"Taylor!" Gab scolded good-naturedly.

Taylor shrugged. "I have to think about it. NOT for the dance -- just for…whatever."

To be honest, Taylor was thinking it might be good to have a nice dress around for any future dates she might have.

After all, Chad had really changed since their disastrous date at the drive-in.

And Taylor felt it was definitely a change for the better.

"How about we get some coffee?" Gab suggested. "I want to sit down 'cuz my feet are killing me."

"Yeah, it sucks to be back in shoes, doesn't it?" Taylor observed, knowing that her best friend had spent the last three months barefoot out at the pool.

"And coffee sounds great…of course!" she added, and the two girls laughed -- Gab knew full well that Taylor NEVER turned down a chance for lattes.

As they headed down the mall, Gab asked, "So about the dance -- are we gonna double?"

Taylor shook her head. "I've gotta be there early to help set up."

"That's too bad."

Taylor shrugged. "It's okay -- I convinced Chad to come early with me and help with the decorations."

Gabriella laughed. "Chad Danforth hanging streamers? This I gotta see!"

"Yeah, I figured it'd help to have someone tall to stand on the ladder."

Gab playfully shoved her friend. "You're just using the poor boy."

Taylor shrugged. "Maybe a little," she admitted. "But don't worry -- I'll make it up to him."

Gabriella looked stricken, and now it was Taylor's turn to give a playful shove.

"Not like THAT! They're just streamers, for goodness sake. I just meant a goodnight kiss or something."

Taylor smiled dreamily -- she was definitely looking forward to him driving her home after the dance. She momentarily got lost in the happy thought…until the smell of fresh-roasted coffee brought her out of her reverie.

Amazingly, there was no line at Starbucks. The two girls ordered and then stood by the counter, waiting for their drinks.

"So, about Chad?" Gabriella said as they waited. "Uh…does he seem…different to you?"

Taylor smiled. "Of course -- why else do you think I said yes?"

She thought back to this summer, to how nervous Chad had seemed on their date. But now he seemed so comfortable around her, like he wasn't trying to prove anything.

The barista set two drinks on the counter, reading off, "A skinny latte for…Tyler? And a mocha for…uh…Babs?"

Taylor and Gabriella shared amused looks as they picked up what they assumed were their drinks and went to find an empty table.

Sitting down in the back corner, Taylor continued to reflect on the change in Chad. "You know, I think hanging out with Ryan has been really good for him."

Gab choked on her mocha, spitting it all over the table.

"Too hot?" Taylor sympathized, quickly grabbing up some napkins to help her friend clean up.

"No, I…." Gabriella merely shook her head, obviously embarrassed.

Taylor tentatively took a sip of her own latte before continuing. "So as I was saying, I think Ryan's been a really good influence on Chad. He's kinda…smoothed over Chad's rough edges, if you know what I mean." Taylor laughed. "Maybe Chad'll even start dressing better."

"Uh…yeah…maybe," Gabriella said, taking a huge swig of her mocha.

---

"So what do you think?"

Gabriella looked up as her friend exited the dressing room. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't plaid pants in turquoise and lime green.

She couldn't help but laugh. "I think a 70-year-old golfer somewhere is missing his pants," she teased.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Well, I think they're cute. And they totally go with that hat we saw earlier."

Gabriella snorted. "I'd hardly call that an endorsement."

"Whatever," Ryan said in a sing-songy voice as he turned around and headed back into the dressing room.

Today had certainly been an eye-opening experience for Gabriella. She never could've imagined how much fun it could be to go shopping with a boy. The only store Troy was ever willing to go in was Target, and he'd always disappear into the sporting goods section, never to be seen again until she dragged him away.

In addition, even though Gabriella had lived in Albuquerque for eight months now, she'd never known that stores existed underneath the Convention and Visitor's Center. Of course, the stores at First Plaza Galleria were way too pricey for her to actually buy anything, but it was fun to see how the other half lived.

Gabriella had also learned that how the other half lived and how they dressed seemed to go hand in hand. Ryan apparently dressed the way he did not solely because of his sexuality but also as a result of his social class. Gabriella had never seen so much pink in the men's section before today. She guessed the reason was that rich men didn't have to prove their masculinity by looking tough -- they already had the power that comes with money.

Either that, or the color-blind gene was common in the upper class!

Although clearly Ryan wasn't color-blind -- he had an innate color sense that his sister clearly lacked. Gabriella enjoyed hearing stories of Sharpay's disastrous clothing choices and wondered if the blonde girl knew just how lucky she was to have a brother like Ryan, who wouldn't let her leave the house clashing.

"Alrighty, then," Ryan said, walking out of the dressing room with the plaid pants slung over his arm. Putting his other arm around Gabriella's shoulders, he started to lead her towards the checkout lines. "After I pay for these, we can grab some chocolate croissants, my treat, before going back to buy the hat."

"We just had Starbucks an hour ago," Gabriella pointed out, realizing that shopping with Ryan was dangerous to her waistline.

Ryan shook his head like a teacher disappointed with his student. "You've got to learn, Gabs, that shopping is all about the eating."

Gabriella raised a doubtful eyebrow, grinning at her friend until he relented.

"Okay, it's also about the clothes. But the eating is very important. My mom and I have been known to stop for food five different times during a shopping trip."

Gabriella couldn't help but smile -- Ryan's relationship with his mom reminded her of the close bond she shared with her own mother.

"So why didn't you go shopping with HER today?" Gabriella asked as Ryan paid for the atrocious pants with his credit card.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "She and Sharpay had a D.A.R. meeting this afternoon."

Gabriella could tell that he was disappointed that his sister was getting to spend quality time with their mom when he was clearly in need of some retail therapy.

"Well, I know I'm not your mom," she said, patting him sympathetically on the back, "but at least you have me today, right?"

Ryan nodded, smiling, as he picked up the shopping bag and they headed out.

"So how come you weren't busy this afternoon?" he asked. "I figured you'd be hanging out with Troy today, or…."

He stopped mid-sentence, obviously not wanting to say her name aloud, so Gabriella finished for him, "Taylor?"

She watched Ryan's face fall into a serious pout. However, she'd been wanting to bring up the subject of Taylor all afternoon, and she was relieved that she could finally discuss it.

"About Taylor, Ryan -- you really need to talk to her."

"Me?! Why do I need to talk to her? She's not MY date!"

Ryan had gone from cheerful to pouty to angry so quickly, he reminded Gabriella of his twin sister -- but she wasn't about to tell HIM that.

"I know Taylor's not your date," she said, "but she is my best friend, Ryan. And I don't want to see her get hurt. I think she's starting to fall for Chad, and someone really should tell her--"

"Tell her what?!" Ryan snapped. "There's nothing to tell. Chad asked HER to the dance, not me -- it's obvious he's not interested in ME anymore."

"Oh Ryan, don't be ridiculous. He's called at least four times this afternoon." The advantage of personalized ringtones was that Gabriella had been able to tell whose calls Ryan had been avoiding.

As if on cue, Ryan's cell started playing "SexyBack".

"Just answer it," Gabriella encouraged. "What can it hurt?"

Ryan pulled the phone out of his pocket and turned off the ringer. "You mean, what MORE can he hurt?"

There was such pain in his voice, Gabriella wasn't sure how to answer him.

Clearly Ryan was devastated by Chad's recent actions, and she couldn't blame him -- she knew what it was like to be abandoned by someone you loved.

While Gabriella wasn't sure what had made Chad ask Taylor to the dance, she figured it probably had to do with him being scared…or selfish…or just plain stupid.

Of course, Chad was a teenage boy -- behaving stupidly was what they did.

And despite being a great shopper, Ryan was one, too.

Which explained a lot.

So Gabriella was going to have to lay out the facts for her friend.

"Chad likes you," she said simply. Ryan opened his mouth to protest, but she held up a finger and continued, "AND…I'm sure he'd like a chance to talk to you so he can explain."

Ryan sighed, clearly depressed. "What's to explain?" he asked, dragging his feet as he walked, his shoulders now slumped, his expression gloomy. "It's obvious he doesn't want to be seen with me on a date. And if he doesn't want to be seen with me, then what's the point?"

"The point is: you like each other."

Ryan shrugged, as if he doubted this statement.

"Well, I like HIM," Ryan admitted, "but…who knows. And I…I don't think I can go back to just being friends. Not after…."

He trailed off into a depressed sigh.

Gabs patted him encouragingly on the back. "It'll be okay, Ry. You'll see."

But Ryan wasn't buying it. Instead, he looked sadder than she'd ever seen him.

"C'mon," she said cheerfully, taking his hand. "Let's go eat some croissants and then buy that hat. Okay?"

Ryan shrugged. "What's the point?" he asked, moping. "Buying a hat won't make things better."

Gabriella stifled a startled gasp -- clearly this was more serious than she'd thought.

---

Weekends were supposed to be relaxing, but by Monday morning, Chad was exhausted from the seesaw of emotions he'd been experiencing since Friday afternoon's detention.

At first he'd felt extremely guilty about upsetting Ryan. But then he'd remembered that over the summer he'd promised Taylor he'd go dancing with her -- this made Chad feel vindicated and pissed off that Ryan was being so melodramatic about the whole thing.

But when Chad had tried to call Ryan to tell him off, the phone had just rung and rung. It didn't even go straight to voicemail, so Chad knew Ryan's phone was on -- which meant that Ryan simply didn't want to talk to him. At first this made him even angrier, but the more he called, and the more he was ignored, the more upset Chad got. He liked Ryan -- a LOT. And even though he wasn't ready to broadcast that fact to the entire East High student body, he hated to think that he might lose Ryan's friendship -- and whatever else they had -- all over some stupid dance.

Chad was determined to patch things up with Ryan, so he got up early Monday morning and rushed to get ready for school. Once there, he headed straight for Darbus's classroom. Ryan often hung out there before school, and Chad hoped to have a few moments alone with him before their classmates arrived.

But as Chad rushed through the classroom door, he found his homeroom practically empty, with only some emo boy, dressed in black from head to toe, sitting with his head down at Ryan's desk. Upon second glance, though, Chad noticed the wisp of blond hair peaking out from under the black hat and realized the emo boy was none other than Ryan himself.

"Yo, dude, what's with the black?" Chad asked cheerfully, walking over and perching on top of his own desk.

As Ryan slowly raised his head, glowering coldly, Chad let out a surprised, "Whoa, dude!"

He'd never seen Ryan in eyeliner before, and after the initial shock wore off, he realized just how sexy Ryan's blue eyes looked outlined in black.

The tight-fitting black shirt Ryan was wearing wasn't hard on the eyes either, outlining the lean muscles underneath. Chad took a moment to admire the view, forgetting for the time being what he'd been longing to discuss with his friend all weekend.

Finally, Chad leaned close to Ryan, whispering, "You look really hot like that!"

Ryan said nothing in reply -- instead, he tossed his head back defiantly and immediately started to rub the eyeliner off with his fingers.

Ryan's cold haughtiness reminded Chad of the silences at the other end of his cell phone.

"So why didn't you answer your phone this weekend, dude? I called, like, a zillion times. I really wanted to talk to you about the dance, to, you know, explain." Chad glanced around the classroom, making sure they were still alone before adding, "And I'd kinda hoped we could get together yesterday to…you know…hang out?"

"Make-out" was more like it, but Chad didn't dare risk having a fellow student walk in on THAT conversation!

"'Hang out'?" It was the first time Ryan had spoken, and his voice dripped with bitterness as the blond continued trying to rub off his eyeliner. "Is that what the Republican senators are calling it these days? You know, I'm sure you could've found an appropriate airport bathroom if you were desperate."

"Whoa, dude!" Chad exclaimed, shocked at Ryan's words. "You know that's not what I meant."

Actually, it kind of WAS what he'd meant, but he wasn't going to admit that now.

"I meant I wanted to hang out with my FRIEND, who I've barely seen since school started."

"Oh, 'friend' is it now?" Ryan was starting to look like a raccoon -- his eyeliner wasn't coming off but was merely getting smeared everywhere. "Careful, you know -- someone might hear and SUSPECT."

"Why you gotta be that way?" he asked frustratedly, knowing full well that Ryan had a point.

Things had been so easy this summer -- Chad never had to worry about what other people might think of his "friendship" with Ryan. But now that they were back at school, he was starting to feel paranoid. What might someone think if they saw the two of them talking? Would they jump to the wrong conclusion?

Which, of course, was really the right conclusion?

Chad just wasn't ready to deal with that -- at least not right now. Yet he felt guilty about hurting Ryan, especially because he'd never even CONSIDERED asking him. Not because he was holding on to that promise he'd made to take Taylor dancing -- just because he was supposed to date girls. That's what guys did.

So maybe Ryan did have the right to be a little put off.

But he didn't have to be so cruel about it.

"What's your problem, dude?"

"'What's MY problem'?" Ryan echoed caustically. "That's easy -- it's a four-letter word that starts with a 'C'."

Chad couldn't help but snort at Ryan's answer, thinking of that OTHER four-letter "C" word and knowing that THOSE were the least of Ryan's problems.

But laughing didn't help the situation. In fact, it seemed to piss off Ryan even more.

"Oh, so now you think it's FUNNY?!"

Ryan's eyeliner was now smeared all over his eyes, making him look like a raccoon -- which made Chad laugh even harder.

But the more he laughed, the more furious and hurtful Ryan got.

"Of course, you're just a jock -- what else do you do besides laugh and throw your stupid basketball around?" Ryan nodded his head at Taylor as she walked past them to her seat, waving and giggling at Chad. "Oh, and talk to your BEARD."

For the first time, Chad noticed that other students had arrived in the room, and he instantly stopped laughing, wondering if Ryan had said anything that might've been overheard and misinterpreted.

And then, suddenly, Chad just didn't care anymore. Being with Ryan simply wasn't worth all this drama.

Screw him!

"Whatever, Drama Queen!" Chad said, jumping off his desk and turning to go find Troy, eager to tell him what a douchebag Ryan was being.

And crashing straight into Sharpay.

"What did you just call my brother?"

Her voice was furious, and she gave Chad the same glare as Ryan.

And despite her being half a foot shorter than him, Chad was suddenly scared. Because Sharpay had a big mouth, and she KNEW things.

Things she could use to destroy him.

"I…uh…," Chad stammered lamely, automatically backing up as the angry blonde bore down on him.

Sharpay must've caught sight of Ryan from the corner of her glare for she suddenly did a double-take, her angry expression melting into one of sisterly annoyance.

"Ryan!" she snapped before sighing and rolling her eyes. She then turned back to Chad, saying, "I'll deal with YOU later," before grabbing Ryan's hand and dragging him out into the hallway, mumbling, "I TOLD you to use the liquid instead of the pencil -- you're a MESS!"

After the Evanses were gone, Chad suddenly felt very exposed, standing in the aisle in front of his fellow classmates.

But looking around, everyone seemed to be talking amongst themselves, totally oblivious to what had just happened.

Everyone except Taylor, who grinned and waved at Chad from her seat near the back.

Chad nodded and smiled smugly back at his date.

"Dude, what's up with Ryan?" Troy asked, pointing back out into the hallway as he entered the classroom. "Sharpay's giving him a spitbath in the hallway."

Chad rolled his eyes, no longer worried about Sharpay spreading "fake" rumors about him -- who was gonna believe her anyway?

Especially when he was taking a total hottie to the dance.

---

Zeke decided Tuesday morning that he'd wait until lunchtime to ask Sharpay to the dance. After all, he didn't want to seem too eager.

Which was why he was limiting himself to only asking her once a day.

Over the weekend, though, he'd been unclear as to whether leaving voice messages should really COUNT as asking, since she didn't have the chance to actually ANSWER. So he'd ended up leaving three messages on Saturday and two on Sunday.

And Zeke had almost broken his self-imposed limit yesterday. After being away from Sharpay for two entire days, which seemed more like an eternity to Zeke, he'd asked her first thing Monday morning. Unfortunately, she'd been busy scrubbing Ryan's face at the time and had barely acknowledged Zeke's question. He'd debated asking her again later in the day but had finally decided against it. After all, he didn't want to annoy her so much that she'd answer "no" just to get him to go away.

But he was starting to get nervous. The dance was approaching fast, and Sharpay had yet to give him any sort of definitive answer.

So he'd gone home after school yesterday and baked chocolate éclairs -- the kind with the chocolate custard inside that Sharpay loved. Chad had teased him mercilessly about his "bribe", but Zeke didn't see it that way. He simply liked Sharpay, and he liked to see her happy -- and éclairs made her happy.

And if they also made her say "yes", Zeke wouldn't exactly complain.

So the moment the lunch bell rang, Zeke rushed to his locker to retrieve the tin of éclairs from the insulated cooler that Troy had given him for his last birthday. Since Troy's unfortunate after-school encounter with one of Zeke's banana cream pies had no-doubt inspired the gift, Zeke was grateful that, thanks to the cooler, he wouldn't have to worry about the éclairs making Sharpay sick.

She was easy to find in the cafeteria. As usual, she was sitting up at the Drama Club table, holding court. Ryan sat next to her, dressed all in black and sighing heavily into his box of sushi. Yesterday Zeke had just assumed that it was laundry day and Ryan had run out of clean shirts, but when the blond boy had showed up in homeroom again this morning dressed all in black, Zeke suddenly wondered if black was the new pink.

Zeke stood quietly next to the table, waiting for a break in the conversation so that he wouldn't have to interrupt. Finally, Sharpay took a sip of her VitaminWater, and Zeke jumped at the opportunity.

"Hey, Sharpay?" he said, opening up the tin and setting it down in front of her. "I made these last night and I thought you might--"

Sharpay's happy gasp interrupted him.

"Are they the ones with the chocolate inside?" Sharpay asked excitedly.

"Yep." Zeke smiled, pleased with himself that he'd picked the right thing to bake. "Just the way you like them."

Sharpay didn't need any more encouragement and quickly dove into one of the éclairs. Zeke watched as she smiled and closed her eyes, clearly savoring the flavor of the choux pastry and rich chocolately custard. It made him so happy to know that he could bring her such joy.

And maybe she'd be willing to return to the favor by saying yes?

"So, uh, Sharpay," Zeke began tentatively, not wanting to interrupt her enjoyment of the pastry but also not wanting to miss his opportunity to ask her. "I was wondering, you know, about the dance on Friday?"

"Oh that's right!"

Zeke breathed a sigh of relief -- clearly she hadn't been putting him off, she'd just forgotten about it.

But instead of turning to Zeke and declaring that yes, she'd LOVE to go to the dance with him, she turned to her brother.

"I told Ms. Darbus we'd meet with her on Friday to discuss next week's auditions -- I guess we'll need to reschedule with her."

Ryan shrugged, clearly not caring. "Why bother? It's not like I'M going to the stupid dance."

Sharpay smacked her brother on the arm. "Stop moping. You're SO pissing me off this week!" She stood up from the table, grabbing Ryan's wrist and dragging him to his feet as well. "C'mon, we've gotta go find Ms. Darbus."

Ryan was reluctant to leave. "Why do I have to go?" he whined.

"Because you're one of the co-presidents of the Drama Club, and you know as well as I do that being a co-president has its responsibilities as well as its privileges."

Ryan sighed, slumping his shoulders and dragging his feet as he started to follow Sharpay.

"Uh…Sharpay?" Zeke asked hopefully as he watched the Evans twins start to go.

"Oh, I almost forgot!"

Zeke prepared himself for the answer that he was certain was finally coming.

But instead Sharpay returned to the table and grabbed up the tin of éclairs. "Thanks for reminding me, Zeke!" she said, smiling sweetly at him as she headed towards the stairs.

Zeke watched the blond twins leave. He was still so stunned that he didn't even crack a smile when Sharpay slapped Ryan's hand away when he reached for an éclair.

Zeke just didn't know what he was doing wrong. Somehow he'd blown it AGAIN, and now he had to wait until tomorrow before he could ask her again -- and he wasn't sure he could WAIT that long.

"Are you okay?"

Zeke turned and glanced down to see little Kelsi looking up at him with her big blue eyes.

Zeke shrugged, flopping down in Sharpay's vacated seat. "Every time I ask Sharpay to the dance, she somehow avoids answering the question. It's like she barely even notices me." Zeke looked at Kelsi, wondering if the short girl might have some insight. "What am I doing wrong?"

Kelsi shrugged. "You're not Sharpay," she pointed out.

"That's true," Zeke laughed, admitting how self-obsessed Sharpay truly was. "So you think if I wore a blonde wig and heels she'd pay more attention to me?" he joked.

"Maybe so," Kelsi teased back. "At the very least, you'd definitely get everyone ELSE'S attention."

"Then maybe that's what I should try next," Zeke said, only half joking -- after all, he WAS getting desperate. "I mean, I've tried flowers, cookies, balloons, and now éclairs. Maybe my next step SHOULD be high heels."

"They're definitely worth a try…though they might be dangerous to your health."

When Zeke gave her a confused look, Kelsi continued: "Add four inches to your height, and you might start hitting your head on doorframes."

"Good point."

Catching sight of Ryan's leftover sushi out of the corner of his eye, Zeke suddenly realized how hungry he was. He also realized he didn't have any money for lunch because he'd spent his last cash on the cocoa powder for the éclairs.

"Hey, do you think Ryan would mind if I ate his lunch?" Zeke asked, grabbing for the strange box of food. He'd never really tried sushi, but he was so hungry, he didn't even care how gross it sounded.

Kelsi shook her head. "I don't think Ryan would even noticed -- he's been so depressed all week."

"Depressed?" So THAT explained the black clothes! "What about?"

Kelsi shrugged. "He hasn't said. But I think it might have something to do with the dance?" she suggested tentatively.

"Yeah, I might be depressed, too, if Sharpay doesn't answer me soon."

Zeke sighed, popping one of the sushi things into his mouth and realizing that sushi was actually quite tasty.

Maybe he'd have to look up some recipes for it online!

---

The Evans twins were already sitting at the table center stage when Eleanor Darbus arrived for the Drama Club meeting. Sharpay looked eager to begin, but Ryan sat slumped in the chair opposite his sister, dressed all in black.

Of course, dressing all in black was nothing unusual for the theatre kids -- but it WAS for the musical theatre ones. Eleanor was used to seeing Ryan dressed in wonderfully colorful outfits, and any black he DID wear always had natty pinstripes.

She might've worried that this sudden change in clothes and demeanor meant something was wrong. But if there was, surely Ryan would've told her. And since he hadn't, she could only assume that he was merely preparing for a role.

"Good afternoon," Eleanor said grandly as she swept onto the stage, her scarf flowing behind her like Isadora Duncan.

Taking a seat between the two twins, she adjusted her glasses to glance at the paperwork in front of her, adding, "Are we all ready to get this spectacular year in the Drama Club underway?"

"Of course, Ms. Darbus," Sharpay said, smiling brightly. "We're eager to get things started." Her smile faltered for a moment as she glared at her brother.

"Ow," Ryan mumbled before sitting up straighter, saying without much conviction, "Yeah, we're ready, Ms. Darbus."

Sharpay rolled her eyes before smiling back at her teacher. "The first order of business should be organizing the auditions for the fall play next week."

"Shouldn't we pick a play first?" Ryan asked.

"Whatever, Ry -- setting up the auditions is more important."

"Actually," Eleanor interjected, "we probably SHOULD finalize our play choice first."

Ryan smiled smugly at his sister -- the first smile Eleanor had seen from him all week.

"Fine!" Sharpay snapped, obviously upset at having been overruled. "We'll pick a play then."

Eleanor started sorting through the pile of scribbled notes the other Drama Club students had placed on her desk over the past week. "I've had lots of suggestions so far: _Death of a Salesman_. _The Cherry Orchard_. _Mother Courage_. _A Doll's House_."

At each suggestion, the Evans twins made faces and shook their heads. Eleanor didn't blame them -- it was like she was reading the Intro to Theatre reading list out loud.

Eleanor continued. "_Oedipus Rex_. _Medea_."

She heard an excited gasp from Sharpay and a decisive "No" from Ryan, so she went on.

"_Long Day's Journey into Night_. _No Exit_."

"That's appropriate," Ryan mumbled. "'Hell IS other people.'"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Just ignore him, Ms. Darbus."

Ryan glared at his sister before suggesting, "How about something more modern, like _Tragedy: a tragedy_?"

Sharpay sighed frustratedly. "No, Ryan," she stated firmly.

"Why not?" Ryan whined. "According to the _New York Times_, 'Will Eno is a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation.'"

"I don't care if he's 'a Shakespeare for the Steven Colbert generation', I'm not doing a play with such a retarded title."

"Yet you would've been happy to do _Twinkle Towne_."

Sharpay gasped, and Ryan emitted another "Ow."

Eleanor realized she should probably interrupt this sibling argument sooner rather than later. "Speaking of Shakespeare, I have a surprise for you two."

The Evans twins had matching twinkles in their eyes as they both leaned in towards their teacher eagerly.

"Are we doing _Hamlet_?" Ryan asked excitedly.

"_As You Like It_?"

"_Twelfth Night_?"

"Oh, the twins -- good thinking, Ryan!"

Eleanor held up her hands. "No, we're not doing any of those."

Both twins sighed disappointedly.

"But I've decided that we're going to do an extra play this year, AFTER the spring musicale. It'll be a brilliant adieu to my two talented seniors."

The twins leaned in expectantly once again, and Eleanor milked the moment for as long as she could.

Unfortunately, Sharpay was a bit impatient. "So what's the play?" she demanded.

Eleanor smiled as she grandly announced, "The Scottish play."

"Yes!"

Ryan and Sharpay shared an excited grin across the table.

Eleanor smiled. "I thought you might like that."

"'Like' it?" Ryan asked.

"More like 'LOVE' it!" Sharpay corrected. She started rubbing her hand: "'Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!'"

Not to be outdone, Ryan proclaimed, "'Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from--'"

"Yes, yes," Eleanor interrupted, realizing they would get nothing done if the two sat here quoting lines all afternoon. "There'll be time enough for that this spring. But for now, we need to pick another play."

Ryan nodded. "If we're going to do _Macbeth_ later on…."

Eleanor gasped as Ryan said the name of the cursed play aloud, but he merely continued, "maybe we should do something lighter this fall."

"How about _Hedda Gabler_?" Sharpay eagerly suggested.

"I said 'lighter'!" Ryan snapped.

"Yeah, but I'd be a FABULOUS Hedda."

Eleanor agreed -- Sharpay WOULD be wonderful as the strong-willed heroine who gets what she wants through whatever means possible.

But Ryan wouldn't hear of it. "But there isn't a decent part for ME in _Hedda_. And if you want to play caustic, why not go all the way and do _Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf_?"

"Ooh -- 'Fun and Games'!" Sharpay clapped her hands together, obviously thrilled with his suggestion.

Although the Evans twins would be fabulous as George and Martha, Eleanor wanted a production with a larger cast to start off the year, something that could allow the in-coming freshmen a chance to tip their toes in the creative waters of the theatre program.

Ryan and Sharpay, though, were clearly only thinking of themselves. Eleanor naturally approved of this -- in order to succeed in the theatre, one had to be assertive.

But it wasn't exactly helping her make a good decision.

"Perhaps we should decide on a play later," Eleanor suggested. "I can go through my scripts and find something that will be perfect for the drama department as a whole -- and you two in particular."

Ryan and Sharpay shared a smile.

"So let's discuss the auditions, shall we?" Eleanor began.

Sharpay flashed her brother a smug look before saying, "Yes, as I was going to say at the BEGINNING of this meeting, I think we should do the auditions next Tuesday. AFTER school, not during free period. And then we can have callbacks on Thursday, same time."

Eleanor nodded. "That sounds reasonable. What do you think, Ryan?"

Ryan shrugged, his earlier glum mood starting to return. "Whatever. It's not like I have anything BETTER to do after school."

Sharpay sighed frustratedly. "Why do you have to start moping again, Ry? You're so BORING when you mope."

"I'm not moping."

"Pouting. sulking, brooding -- take your pick."

"Well, not everyone can be eternally happy when they're dissed, sis. I'm not Zeke, you know."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"The poor guy is practically throwing himself at your feet asking you to the dance. You either need to throw him a bone or send him running. And stop waiting around for someone better because clearly he would've asked you by now."

Sharpay gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

"So, auditions," Eleanor quickly interjected, finding it hard to keep the twins on topic today. "After school Tuesday and Thursday sounds good to me." Turning to Sharpay, she added, "And I suppose you'd like to do couple auditions as usual?"

Before Sharpay could agree, Ryan mumbled, "Couple auditions are stupid."

Eleanor and Sharpay both turned to look at Ryan, who had slumped down in his seat again.

"Repeat?" Sharpay demanded.

"You heard me -- they're stupid. Because couples don't always go well together. And sometimes one person in the couple is committed and the other isn't, and then the whole…play gets thrown out-of-whack." Ryan crossed his arms across his chest as he added, "I think we should just have singles auditions. We're all really alone in this world anyway -- shouldn't we be for auditions as well?"

Although Ryan had a good point, Sharpay shook his head like her brother was insane.

"Will you get over it already, Ryan? MOVE ON! You had some fun this summer, but it's over. Now just get on with your life and stop dwelling on it."

"Well, maybe I don't WANT to move on. Maybe I want some time to mourn my broken heart -- you ever think about that?"

"Mourning is useless, Ry. It's not gonna bring him back, it's just gonna make you miserable. And YOU aren't the one who should be miserable right now -- HE is! And the best way to do THAT is to make him realize what a mistake he's made. Get out there and have some fun. Rub it in his face that you don't need him. Either he'll come crawling back…or he'll have to just lie in that miserable little bed he's made for himself. And either way, you win."

Eleanor wondered what -- or at least who -- they were talking about. It certainly made Ryan's wardrobe choices over the last few days make more sense. Poor boy -- she knew what it was like to have your heart broken.

Sharpay's lecture slowly began to have an effect on her brother -- after a moment of stony glaring, he uncrossed his arms and sat up straighter in his chair.

"Maybe you're right," he reluctantly agreed.

"And?" Sharpay prodded.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "And I still think couples auditions are stupid, but I'm sure I'll be overruled, so I guess I'll have to live with it."

Sharpay smiled. "Good. Now let's get back to our meeting, shall we?"

As Ryan nodded, Eleanor gently patted the boy's hand -- she hated to see her little birds so sad. But once he started play rehearsals, he'd forget all about his broken heart -- that's what Eleanor had always done.

So the sooner the play could get underway, the better.

---

Martha stared down at her textbook and sighed. She knew she needed to get her assignment done before 2nd period calc, but she just wasn't in the mood for math at 7:30 in the morning. This was definitely one of those times that dancing seemed cooler than homework!

Truth be told, dancing had been foremost on Martha's mind for the past week, ever since the signs for the back-to-school dance had been posted. At first, she'd been totally excited -- she loved to dance and jumped at any opportunity to do so. But then she'd learned that all her friends had paired off and were going as couples to the dance, leaving Martha as the odd girl out.

So now she was the only one of her friends NOT going to the dance, even though she was the only one who LOVED to dance -- life was so unfair!

Martha sighed as a gaggle of freshmen girls giggled up the front steps past her. It had been so easy when she'd been a freshman -- the chess club had all just gone to the school dances together as a group, with none of this stupid "dating" stuff. Martha wished it could be that simple again.

'Ah, the joys of growing up,' Martha thought wistfully.

She began to return her attention back to her math homework when something bright caught her eye. She looked up to see Ryan Evans ascending the stairs to East High, his bedazzled lime green hat sparkling brightly as its many jewels caught the light.

Martha smiled -- no one dressed quite like Ryan.

And no one danced quite like him, either.

A slow smile began to cross Martha's face as she realized that the answer to all her problems had just walked by.

"Ryan!" Martha called out, scrabbling ungracefully to her feet and hurrying after him.

Luckily, Ryan heard her and stopped, a haughty eyebrow raised in question.

"Hey, Ryan," Martha said breathlessly, winded from leaping up the stairs two at a time. "Can we…uh…I mean…can I ask you a question?"

As Martha stammered awkwardly, she suddenly realized that, while she and Ryan had worked together for the Star Dazzle show and had even danced together at the big end-of-summer pool party, the two of them had never had an actual conversation. This fact flustered her -- she wasn't good under pressure, which was exactly why she hadn't gone out for the debate team.

Not that the blond boy was particularly intimidating, standing there in his sparkly hat and penny loafers. Martha wondered if the petite boy even weighed a hundred pounds wet!

But physically intimidating or not, Martha realized she'd better ask him quick before he turned and walked into the school.

The trick was where to begin. She hadn't really thought this through, so she wasn't sure exactly what to say.

"I…I know you're not interested in me," Martha began, "or ANY g--." She stopped herself midword. Although she knew Ryan was gay, she also was fairly certain that he wouldn't want that fact broadcast all over the steps of East High.

"I…uh…I mean…." She could feel her face flushing with embarrassment and decided to just get it over with as quickly as possible: "You wanna go to the dance with me?"

Ryan raised both eyebrows as he echoed skeptically, "'Go to the dance with you'?"

Martha nodded enthusiastically. "Not as a date, per se. We could just go together -- as dance partners. You know, like Fred and Ginger. Or Mel B and Maksim."

"Who?"

"You know…_Dancing with the Stars_?"

Seeing Ryan's blank expression, Martha was appalled to realize that Ryan had no idea what she was talking about. "Oh my god, Ryan, you SO need to start watching it -- you'd LOVE it." Then, realizing she'd gone way off-topic, she said, "But anyways, I just thought that YOU like to dance, I like to dance, and there's a dance tomorrow -- we should just go and have fun and dance the night away togeth--"

"I'm in," Ryan interrupted, a slow smile starting to light up his pale face. "I'm so in."

Martha practically jumped up and down with excitement. "Oh my god, this is gonna be so much fun! We're gonna be the fiercest couple on the dance floor."

Thinking more about it, she added, "Oh, and do you want to get dinner beforehand, or is that too date-like?"

Ryan shrugged. "Everyone has to eat. And we'll need energy if we're gonna 'shake our booty' and 'get down tonight'."

Martha laughed as Ryan spontaneously broke into an impromptu disco spin. This was going to be the best dance EVER!

---

Sharpay could tell before breakfast that today was going to be a great day, in spite of the whole having-to-go-to-school thing. That was because, instead of being forced to sit across the breakfast table from her black-clad depressive brother, he'd instead come into her room early, dressed in an appropriately bright ensemble, and suggested they get Starbucks on the way to school, his treat.

She was so happy to see that her brother had actually listened to her and come to his senses. His moping had been really getting on her nerves, and she was glad that he was finally moving on.

And Sharpay had actually thought about what HE'D said as well and realized he was right -- she HAD been putting off Zeke in the hopes that "someone better" might ask.

Thinking about it last night, she'd been horrified to realize that she was treating Zeke the same way Chad had treated Ryan -- being nice to him over the summer and then dropping him like a hot potato the moment school began again. And in Sharpay's eyes, behaving like Chad was not a thing to be proud of, especially considering how pissed she'd been at the stupid jock all week.

So she'd come to the decision that she was going to accept Zeke's invitation first thing Thursday morning -- she knew that would make his day!

Sharpay caught up with Zeke at his locker before homeroom.

"Hey Zeke," she said, flashing her cutest smile.

"Hey Sharpay."

Zeke smiled brightly at her as he pulled something out of his locker -- Sharpay hoped it was something edible, but it turned out just to be his history book.

He must've noticed her disappointed look because he quickly explained, "I'm sorry, Sharpay -- I didn't bake anything last night. But Ms. Cavanass sometimes lets me use the home ec room during lunch, so I could bake you some cookies then or something."

The offer was tempting, but Sharpay wanted to stay on track and not cloud the issue by thinking about warm, fresh-baked cookies.

"So," Sharpay started. She wasn't sure how to broach the subject of the dance, since he'd been the one bringing it up all week.

Until yesterday, that is.

"I didn't see you yesterday," Sharpay blurted out as the thought hit her.

"You didn't?" Zeke sounded disappointed. "We have three classes together, not to mention homeroom."

"Oh." Sharpay hadn't known that. "Well then, I didn't TALK to you yesterday."

"Actually, you asked me if I had any more éclairs," Zeke pointed out. "Several times, in fact."

The tall lunkhead was not making this any easier for her.

"Oh, whatever!" she snapped frustratedly. Then she quickly smiled, looking coyly up at Zeke through her mascara-coated lashes. "I MEAN, wasn't there something you wanted to ask me?"

When she was met with a blank stare, she prompted, "You know -- about the DANCE?"

Sharpay watched as the color drained from Zeke's face.

"Oh god, Sharpay -- I thought -- I mean, when you didn't -- I'm going with someone else!"

Sharpay felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach.

"REPEAT?!"

"I'm so sorry, Sharpay. I just thought -- well, you kept putting me off, so I thought you just didn't want to go with me. But I'd definitely be interested in sharing a dance or two with you -- I'm sure Kelsi won't mind."

"You're going with KELSI?!"

Sharpay could hear how shrill her voice was getting, but she didn't care -- she couldn't believe she'd been jilted for that…that RUNT!

"You know what?" Zeke said, clearly trying to appease her. "I won't wait for lunch -- I'll go bake you some cookies right now. Okay, Sharpay?"

And Zeke was off.

All Sharpay could think to holler after him was, "They better have chocolate!"

Long after Zeke had disappeared into the crowd of students, Sharpay continued to stand there, leaning against the lockers, trying to get her bearings. She -- Sharpay Evans -- star of East High's Drama Club -- a SENIOR -- did not have a date for the back-to-school dance.

Which was now less than 48 hours away!

Could this day get any worse?!

"Hey, Shar," Ryan said cheerfully, bounding up to her. "Guess what? I just got a date for -- hey, did you know you spilled coffee down your shirt?"

As Sharpay glanced down to see the offending brown stain, the bell sounded, making her late for homeroom.

"Aaaah!" She screamed, stomping her foot angrily.

Today was turning out to be a hideous day -- just like she'd predicted!

END OF ACT II

INTERMISSION


	3. Act III

Back to School -- Act III

"Enjoy the dance," Taylor called after the group of giggling freshmen girls. After putting their money away in the cash box, she glanced around, trying to figure out where Chad had gone to, but she didn't see him anywhere.

When she'd first volunteered to be in charge of the back-to-school dance, Taylor hadn't realized how much work it would be. The decorations alone had taken all afternoon so that she and Chad hadn't had time for a real dinner before the dance. And once they'd returned to the school, Taylor had remembered that she'd volunteered to take the first shift at the door. She wouldn't blame Chad if he was sore -- she was frustrated herself.

But in fifteen minutes she would be relieved by the next shift, and then she and Chad could go have some fun on the dance floor...that is, until she had to go work the refreshment table.

The door opened, and Taylor looked up to see a familiar face.

"Javier?" she asked, surprised to see him.

The tall good-looking guy turned and smiled at her. "Hey, Taylor."

"What are you do--?"

She didn't need to finish her question because the answer walked through the door Javier was politely holding open.

"Thank you, Javier," Sharpay said, smiling sweetly at the Spanish lifeguard.

"Of course, Miss Evans."

The blonde's smile disappeared as she hissed through clenched teeth, "You're supposed to call me Sharpay!"

"Sorry, Miss...Sharpay," Javier quickly corrected himself.

Sharpay turned and smiled sweetly at Taylor. "Good evening, Taylor. I believe you've met my date, Javier?"

Taylor tried not to laugh. "Your date, huh?" She shook her head. "Sharpay, I'm sure you know the rule that only students are allowed--"

"He's a student," Sharpay interrupted. "Aren't you, Javier?"

He nodded. "From West High," he said decisively before looking over at Sharpay, obviously seeking her approval.

"No he's not," Taylor said. "He goes to U of A. I can't let him--"

"Please!" Sharpay leaned across the table, grabbing the collar of Taylor's blouse. "You HAVE to let him in!"

"Well..."

It wasn't just that Taylor enjoyed seeing Sharpay suffer, though she had to admit that she did. But Taylor was in charge of the dance, and rules were rules.

"PLEASE! I'll pay you, if you want!"

As Sharpay started to open up her purse, Taylor suddenly remembered hearing through the grapevine (from Gabs via Ryan and Chad via Zeke) that Sharpay had been left without a date at the last minute -- no wonder she was so desperate.

But before Taylor could make a decision, Javier smiled winsomely at her.

"I understand you have rules, Taylor. But I promise not to cause any problems or spike the punch or anything. You can even search me for alcohol if you'd like."

He held up his hands, as if ready to be searched, and Taylor felt her heart soften.

"Well…," Taylor began.

"And here's a fifty," Sharpay said, thrusting a 50-bill into Taylor's hand.

Now Taylor was not one to take bribes. But she had gone well over the StuCo budget for this dance, so surely it wouldn't be wrong to accept, would it?

Taylor smiled. "Thank you for your DONATION to Student Council, Sharpay," she said pointedly.

"Yeah, whatever," Sharpay said curtly. She then turned to Javier, saying, "C'mon -- just pay for our tickets and let's go in."

"Right away, Miss….Sharpay." Javier pulled out a 10-dollar bill, which had obviously been provided by Sharpay earlier, and handed it to Taylor.

Then, offering Sharpay his arm, he started to lead her into the dance, calling back, "See you, Taylor."

--

Martha was thirsty and finding it hard to catch her breath, yet she didn't dare suggest that they stop dancing -- they were having too much fun.

For a guy who wasn't interested in girls, Ryan sure knew how to show a girl a good time. She'd never ridden in a convertible before, and the quirky pizza place with the singing waiters was a complete blast. They'd arrived early and had been the first ones on the dance floor, and they hadn't left it since.

In the past she'd always felt a little self-conscious at dances -- most of her friends merely shuffled along or stood at the wall and watched. But she and Ryan had claimed the dance floor as their own. All around them, the other students seemed to make way for their twirling and dipping.

Ryan had been eagerly teaching her various ballroom and swing steps, but he was also a willing student to her hip-hop moves. Together they were creating their own unique dance fusion, and Martha couldn't wait to blog about it on her _Dancing with the Stars_ fan community.

As Ryan was spinning her once again in a flamboyant swing move, Martha caught sight of the cafeteria's double doors being flung open, and she paused mid-spin to watch Sharpay make her grand entrance.

The blonde stood in the doorway just long enough for heads to turn and take in her sparkly coral blue dress, her perfectly coiffed hair, and her gorgeous Latin escort. Sharpay smiled at the crowd, as if they were all there just to see her, and then continued into the dance leaning on her date's arm.

Her strangely familiar-looking date.

"Hey, isn't that Javier from Lava Springs?" Martha asked.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's him."

"But he's not a high school student."

Ryan shrugged. "Sharpay never lets rules get in the way of getting what she wants."

"So…are they dating?" Martha asked, surprised. "'Cuz I thought…."

She trailed off, not wanting to voice her suspicions in case she was wrong.

Ryan eyed her, clearly curious. "You thought what?"

Martha shrugged, somewhat embarrassed. "I don't know," she said, lowering her voice so only Ryan could hear. "I just always kinda thought that Javier was probably gay."

Ryan looked surprised, and Martha blushed.

"Oh god, please don't tell him that," she said, humiliated that she'd been so wrong.

But Ryan was clearly impressed. "How did you KNOW that?"

Martha felt relieved. "Is he really?" When Ryan nodded, she continued, "He just kinda pinged for me from the start."

"Wow, you're good!" said Ryan. "It took me three years to figure that out."

His pleased smile slowly turned into a mischievous grin. "You and I have GOT to start hanging out more!"

Martha laughed, and for the umpteenth time that evening she wished that she had befriended Ryan years ago.

Glancing over to where Javier was helping Sharpay out of her wrap, Martha commented, "Your sister must be pretty desperate to bring a gay guy as her date."

Ryan smirked, arching an eyebrow. "Pot? Meet kettle."

Martha laughed. "Touche!"

"So," Ryan said, pulling her close to spin the two of them around, "anyone else around here ping for you?"

"Why?" she teased back. "Planning to ditch me for a better dance partner?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not possible," he said, grinning. "You're the second best dancer in the school."

"After YOU, of course," she said.

"Of course!" Ryan said matter-of-factly, a smug smile on his face.

Martha laughed. Even though a lot had changed over the summer, some things never changed.

Ryan was and always would be an Evans.

But Martha kind of liked him that way.

--

As Chad and Troy launched into a heated discussion about their Fantasy Football teams, Gabriella sighed. She'd been bugging Troy all week to talk to Chad about the Taylor situation, but every time she asked him about it, Troy claimed that he hadn't had a chance to bring it up.

But now Gabriella knew the truth -- Troy had probably had plenty of opportunities to bring it up, he just hadn't wanted to.

Not that she blamed him -- it was an awkward thing to discuss. But it NEEDED to be discussed. And SOON! Before it was too late!

So when there was a lull in the boys' conversation, Gabi jumped at the opening.

"Chad, we really need to talk to you," she burst out without preamble.

"You do?"

Chad looked with confusion from Gabriella to Troy, who merely looked awkwardly down at his feet.

Gabi elbowed her boyfriend. "Yes, we do," she insisted. "Troy and I need to talk to you about--"

"Taylor!"

Troy's cheery welcome made Gabi turn around just in time to see her best friend hurrying across the dance floor towards them.

"I'm here, I'm free!" Taylor said breathlessly as she reached them. "Becky FINALLY relieved me at the ticket table, ten minutes late but better late than never, so now I'm free to dance."

"It's about time," Chad grumbled.

"Actually, it's the PERFECT time," Troy said, gesturing towards the DJ.

It took Gabi a moment to realize what he was referring to: the opening strains of a slow romantic song.

Gabriella was overcome with a sense of panic and urgency. She couldn't just sit back and watch her best friend have her heart broken.

So she did what any caring best friend would do -- she grabbed Chad's hand and announced, "Sorry, Taylor -- Chad promised ME this dance."

"He did?!" "I did?!"

Gabriella nodded, determined to not let pesky facts get in the way.

"Yes he did. Now c'mon, Chad, let's go dance."

And she dragged him to the far side of the dance floor, as far from Taylor as she could get.

"What are you doing?" Chad asked as she dragged him along, obviously caught off-guard by Gabriella's sudden forcefulness.

"I'm trying to save my best friend from heartache and disappointment."

"Huh?"

Gabriella pulled Chad to her to start dancing. "You have to tell Taylor about Ryan," she insisted.

Chad tried to pull away, but Gabi held him close.

"What are you talking about?" he sighed before adding bitterly, "Did Ryan send you?"

"No! In case you haven't noticed, Ryan's been so depressed lately that he's barely spoken to me."

Unfortunately, at that very moment, Ryan and Martha went twirling by them on the dance floor, laughing merrily.

"Well, he WAS depressed," Gabi corrected, feeling somewhat chagrined.

Secretly, though, she was thrilled that Ryan was having such a genuinely good time tonight -- he deserved it, after what he'd been through this past week.

And after acting like such a jerk to both her best friends, Chad deserved to be miserable -- which he seemed to be.

But that wasn't going to stop Gabi from giving him the lecture he needed to hear.

--

Kelsi was thankful when the slow song was over because she could finally give her arms a rest. She'd never realized how tiring it was to dance with someone a foot taller than her.

She was also thankful because she could now watch Jason some more, which she couldn't do when her view was blocked by Zeke's chest.

Before tonight, she had thought she wouldn't want to see Jason on his date with Kim, but it turned out Kelsi was enjoying seeing Jason so happy, even though he was happy with someone else.

As Kelsi and Zeke exited the dance floor, she caught sight of Jason and Kim talking and laughing by the chairs against the wall. Kelsi was trying so hard to figure out what they were talking about that she accidentally collided with Zeke.

"You okay?" Zeke asked, looking worried.

Kelsi nodded, embarrassed. She felt guilty about what a terrible date she was being -- she hoped that Zeke wasn't upset with how distracted she'd been all evening, but she wouldn't blame him if he was.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"It's not your fault," Zeke said, sighing wistfully, "it's mine." His attention was drawn elsewhere as he added, "I guess my head just isn't in this date."

Kelsi followed Zeke's gaze and realized he was staring at Sharpay as she giggled and hung all over her date on the dance floor.

'So I'm not the only distracted one,' Kelsi realized, feeling somewhat relieved as her eyes wandered back once again towards Jason.

Unfortunately, Zeke must've followed her gaze for he exclaimed, "Hey, there's Jason and Kim. Let's go say hi."

"Saying hi" was the last thing Kelsi wanted to do -- she preferred to keep her unrequited love at a safe distance. But she obediently followed her date over to where the happy couple was chatting.

As the three athletes launched into an animated discussion about their current practice schedules, Kelsi shuffled her feet uncomfortably. Not wanting to stare at Jason for fear that her crush would be revealed, instead she kept her eyes on the dance floor, watching Sharpay and her date with interest.

It took Kelsi awhile to figure out exactly what was going on. One moment Sharpay would seem to be having a great time, laughing and chatting with Javier, and the next she'd look annoyed and upset. Eventually, Kelsi realized that this light switch of happiness seemed to turn on the moment Zeke would glance her way and turn off the moment his attention returned to his friends.

'What a manipulator,' Kelsi marveled, knowing that it was Sharpay's own fault that she wasn't Zeke's date tonight. But Sharpay, it seemed, had not learned her lesson about treating Zeke better and instead was clearly trying to make him jealous.

And Zeke was falling for it! Kelsi saw his shoulders slump and his smile fall every time he glanced Sharpay's way. Kelsi wished she could do something about it, but she could only stand by helplessly and watch the drama unfold.

However, staring at them so long, Kelsi eventually caught Javier's eye, and his face lit up to see not one but four familiar faces. Despite Sharpay's protests, Javier hurried off the dance floor over to the foursome.

"What is this -- a Lava Springs reunion?" Javier teased as he joined them. "How you doin', Kelsi?" he asked, kissing her hand gallantly. He then turned to Kelsi's date, squinting his eyes as he tried to remember Zeke's name.

"You worked with Chef Michael, right?"

Zeke nodded, offering his hand. "I'm Zeke."

Kelsi jumped in. "And I'm sure you remember Kim and Jason -- they both worked in the kitchen."

Javier gave Kelsi a grateful grin before taking Kim's hand and kissing it, much to Jason's annoyance.

But Javier didn't notice Jason's reaction because his attention was focused on the hand he was now holding.

"Did you hurt your shoulder?" he asked Kim.

Kim nodded, surprised. "Yeah, I pulled something at volleyball yesterday," she said, massaging her shoulder with her free hand. "It's been killing me all day."

"You probably strained your trap," Javier said, quickly moving behind Kim and starting to massage her neck.

Kelsi watched Kim's eyes close tight in pain and relief.

"Oh yeah, that's the spot," she gasped as the massage therapist worked his magic on her neck and shoulders.

Jason, however, thought it was anything but magic.

And Sharpay wasn't impressed either.

"What are you doing?!" she barked as she hurried over to them. "You're MY date!"

Javier just rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Miss….Sharpay. The girl just pulled her shoulder and…."

"And you are not being paid to be a massage therapist tonight," Sharpay barked. "You're being…."

She trailed off, her eyes darting nervously in Zeke's direction.

Kelsi watched as Sharpay's happiness instantly switched back on. The blonde smiled coyly up at her date, linking arms with him and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I mean," she began, her voice dripping with sweetness, "you're supposed to be having fun tonight, not working."

Kelsi sniggered -- it was clear to her that Javier WAS working tonight!

And she just hoped he was being generously compensated.

--

This entire evening was turning out to be a disaster, and it was all Ryan's fault! HE was the one who'd suggested hiring Javier in the first place.

Of course, he'd later confessed that he'd merely been joking, but Sharpay was still holding him responsible!

Javier had been the perfect choice -- older, suave, gorgeous. What girl WOULDN'T be jealous of her? And, more importantly, what tall basketball-playing baker wouldn't be jealous seeing Sharpay dancing in Javier's buff arms?

But Javier's dancing was marginal at best. And he kept calling her "Miss Evans", which might as well have been a marquee announcing: "Tonight the part of Sharpay's date will be played by Javier Ibarra."

Sharpay had also forgotten just how many of her fellow East High students already KNEW Javier from working at Lava Springs all summer, so the elaborate backstory she'd created for him was now simply going to waste.

But even worse, he was now CHATTING with the dishwashers! And HAD been for the past twenty minutes! They weren't even discussing anything INTERESTING -- they just kept rambling on about sports injuries and stuff.

How on earth was THIS supposed to make Zeke jealous?

Finally, Sharpay decided she couldn't stand it any longer, so she politely excused herself ("I'm going to talk to Ryan -- don't go anywhere, Javier!") and hurried off towards the dance floor.

It wasn't hard to find her brother -- he and his chubby date had been making complete spectacles of themselves all evening, dancing around like they owned the place.

As she approached the odd couple, she heard Ryan explaining, "The important thing about tango is that you need to keep your weight over both feet so that you can go in any direction at any time."

Sharpay was tempted to make her own comment about Martha's weight, but she was too intent on giving Ryan a piece of her mind.

"Ryan!" she barked, walking right up to him so that Martha had to jump out of the way so as not to get run over.

"Hey Shar," Ryan said, smiling happily. Then, peering around the dance floor, he asked. "How's your date going?"

"How do you think? It's a total disaster, and it's all your fault."

Ryan laughed. "I don't think you can hold me responsible, sis, 'cuz I told you I was joking about hiring--"

"Hush!" Sharpay snapped, nodding her head towards Martha. "I don't want everyone to know."

"Too late," Ryan quietly admitted. "I think they already do."

That was exactly what she'd been afraid of. And NOW what was she supposed to do?

"Well, I can't even get him to dance anymore, not that his dancing is anything to write home about," Sharpay whined. "He's just over there talking to Zeke and everyone about sports and trapezes and stuff."

"Trapezes?" Ryan sounded interested.

"I think she means 'trapezius'," Martha explained.

Sharpay and her brother both looked at the smart girl blankly.

"The trapezius muscle extends from your neck, across your shoulders, and down your back," Martha explained. "It's trapezoid in shape, which is why--"

"Do we care?!" Sharpay snapped. "Learning about muscles is not going to get Javier to shut up." She grabbed Ryan's hand, begging, "PLEASE won't you do something?"

Ryan shrugged. "Do what, exactly? Say 'Hey Javier, I have something to show you in the bathroom'?"

Martha laughed at this, but Sharpay could find nothing funny in his answer.

"Sure. ANYTHING. Just get him away from the group so that Zeke can be jealous of me some more."

Ryan looked skeptical.

But as the intro of a slow song began to play, Martha completely surprised Sharpay by encouraging him.

"Why don't you just go ask Kelsi to dance?" she suggested. "That would disrupt the conversation and maybe encourage the rest of them to return to the dance floor."

"What a great idea, Martha," Sharpay beamed. Perhaps it was good that Ryan had brought along someone smart.

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" Ryan asked his date.

"Of course she doesn't mind," Sharpay said, practically shoving her brother off towards the sports-talking group.

--

"You seem to be having a good time."

Ryan beamed. "I'm having a BLAST!"

He smiled down at the short girl in his arms. "Aren't you?"

Kelsi shrugged. "Tonight's going okay, I guess."

"Okay? Isn't Zeke treating you well?" Ryan suddenly felt very protective. "If he's not, I'll…I'll…." Ryan considered a confrontation with the towering jock and concluded, "I'll…hire someone to steal his baking supplies."

Kelsi laughed. "No need to torture him! It's not HIS fault."

"That's a relief," Ryan said, teasingly wiping his brow.

However, seeing Zeke leading Sharpay out to the dance floor, Ryan breathed a genuine sigh of relief.

"Yes!" he exclaimed -- now that his sister had gotten what she wanted, she'd stay out of his hair for the rest of the night.

But then Ryan remembered who he was dancing with -- Zeke's date!

"Oh Kelsi, I'm so sorry!" he said.

"It's okay," she said, shrugging it off. "At least SOMEONE got who they wanted," she added wistfully.

Ryan felt terrible -- Zeke never would've abandoned Kelsi if Ryan hadn't asked her to dance.

And he knew exactly how it felt to be abandoned -- in fact, he'd spent all week trying to get over it.

"If you want me to…," Ryan searched his mind for some way he could make things right, "…I don't know…drag Sharpay away…or--"

"Ryan, it's okay," Kelsi said, putting a hand on his chest to halt him. "I don't have a thing for Zeke, so I'm fine with him and Sharpay. Really!"

"In fact," she said, smiling as she looked over at them dancing together, "I'm really happy for him."

"Really?" Ryan asked, surprised. "Personally, I kinda pity him."

He then looked back down at Kelsi. "But know that the offer to steal his baking supplies still stands," he teased, and she laughed.

Yet despite Kelsi's reassurances, Ryan still felt a twinge of guilt that she was now on her own.

"Why don't you come hang out with me and Martha for the rest of the dance?" Ryan suggested. "We're teaching each other dance steps -- she knows all these awesome hip-hop moves that I'm SO gonna use in my next routine. And have you ever seen _Dancing with the Stars_?"

Kelsi shook her head.

"Me neither, but it sounds fabulous. And Martha has every episode Tivo'd, so we're gonna get together and watch them all. That's why she's so excited about learning all the ballroom steps, and luckily she's a quick study, unlike Shar."

Ryan rolled his eyes as he thought of the HOURS of lessons that he'd practically had to drag Sharpay through. Of course, that was because dancing was only a secondary goal for her, something she needed to do in order to get what she really wanted -- to become a star.

But for Ryan, dancing WAS the goal. And the same was true for Martha. Which was why he was having so much fun dancing with her tonight!

"Let's see," Ryan continued, thinking about all the dances they'd done, "so far I've shown her the waltz, tango, salsa, two-step -- oh, I haven't shown her the foxtrot yet! She'll LOVE the foxtrot -- it's really simple, but there are, like, a thousand variations and--"

"And," Kelsi smiled, interrupting, "this song's almost over, so why don't you go teach Martha that now?"

She stepped away from him, turning back towards the chairs.

"Come with me," Ryan said eagerly, grabbing Kelsi's wrist to lead her through the crowded dance floor. "I can teach you, too."

But the short girl shook her head, freeing her hand from his grip. "No, I don't wanna interrupt you guys. You two just go ahead."

"You sure?" Ryan felt bad leaving her alone.

But Kelsi smiled and nodded. "Of course. I'll be fine. You go dance."

Ryan was about to protest again when Kelsi added, "You need to show Martha that foxtrot, right?"

"That's right!" he said, excited to have another new dance to teach. "Okay, see you later, Kels."

And Ryan was off to go rescue Martha from Javier -- the massage therapist may have magic fingers, but he sure had two left feet!

--

Slinging an arm over the mezzanine railing, Chad watched the movements of dancers on the floor below. He now understood why Sharpay preferred to hold court up here during lunchtime. From here, he could see everyone having fun down below.

While HE was stuck up here with Taylor watching the punch bowl!

All week he'd been looking forward to tonight, to showing Taylor a good time on the dance floor. But they'd barely gotten to dance at all! And they'd been so crunched for time that they hadn't even gotten to eat a real dinner. Tonight didn't even feel like a date -- it just felt like a LONG day at school.

Taylor suddenly waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Chad."

"Huh?" Chad pulled his gaze away from the dancers below long enough to address her. "What did you say?"

Taylor sighed, and Chad could tell she was annoyed. "What's with you tonight?"

Chad frowned and snapped, "Nothing!"

"Was it something I did? Something I said?"

"What? No!" Chad was taken aback by how pissed off he sounded and he quickly softened his tone. "Sorry. I just..."

'…can't keep my mind off of Ryan,' he thought before offering her a warm smile. "I have a lot on my mind tonight, that's all."

Taylor put her hand on Chad's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Anything I can do?"

Chad shrugged. "Save a couple more dances for me?" he suggested. If he was busy showing her his new dance moves, maybe he wouldn't have time to think about Ryan.

"Definitely!" Taylor said, smiling. "We'll hit the floor as soon as my shift is over."

However, her smile faded when she caught sight of one of her fellow dance committee members gesturing wildly at her from the kitchen doorway.

"I have to go see what's going on with the refreshments. Will you watch the punchbowl for me while I go see what's wrong THIS time?"

"Sure, babe." Chad smiled winsomely. "You can count on me." He gave her a mock-salute.

Taylor rolled her eyes and laughed as she stood to leave. "You are SUCH a dork."

"All part of my charm," he proclaimed to her retreating form before settling back into the metal folding chair next to the refreshment table.

As a slow ballad started, Chad could see Gabriella coaxing Troy out onto the dance floor below, giggling all the while. Over on the side of the cafeteria, against the wall, Kelsi sat alone in a metal folding chair, staring wistfully out at the dancers. Chad followed her gaze to Jason, who was dancing with Kim from the girls' basketball team -- Chad silently thanked the basketball gods that Jason moved better on the court than he did on the dance floor. Nearby, a starstruck Zeke was now dancing with Sharpay, who seemed to have ditched her mystery date.

But no matter how hard he resisted, Chad's gaze kept settling on the same person: Ryan. Chad justified this by the fact that everyone else was just shuffling in place, while Ryan and Martha were gliding all over the dance floor. Naturally, the twirling couple was going to catch his eye in the midst of all that stillness. The fact that Ryan was one-half of that couple had nothing to do with it.

And there was something strangely familiar about the dance Ryan and Martha were now doing. Chad gave up all pretense of watching anybody else so he could concentrate on deciphering the steps Ryan was teaching Martha. Chad listened to the music and watched the way Ryan confidently stepped in time: slow, slow, quick-quick, slow.

Though the DJ was playing a modern pop ballad, Chad could suddenly hear Peggy Lee's sultry voice in his head.

'He's teaching her the foxtrot,' Chad realized, thinking back to his own dance lessons.

The way he had held Ryan in his arms as they moved together. The way Ryan's skin had felt beneath his fingertips. The fiery touch of Ryan's fevered lips to his as they had shared their very first--

"Hey Chad!"

Startled by the sudden intrusion into his reminiscence, Chad yelped.

Taylor gave Chad an apologetic smile as she set out a large tray of cookies on the table. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we were able to save the cookies, despite Alan putting them..."

Taylor continued with a long explanation about cookies in the freezer and ice not in the freezer and someone having to go out and buy more ice, but Chad wasn't really listening -- his mind was still back in the yoga studio with Ryan, reliving every sound, every smell, every touch.

"...and, of course, the dance committee isn't going to contradict popular opinion."

Taylor looked at Chad eagerly, obviously expecting him to comment, but Chad had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh, yeah, that sounds great," Chad said tentatively, hoping that was the right answer.

Apparently it was because Taylor flashed a self-satisfied grin as she sat back down next to Chad.

--

It was the imminent threat of dehydration that finally got them to stop dancing. While Martha wished she could've danced all night -- a comment that had inspired Ryan to burst into song -- she realized that they needed to get something to drink before it was too late.

As they climbed the stairs to the refreshment table, Martha suddenly realized that she should've warmed up before she started dancing. She could already feel her muscles protesting with every step, and she knew she would pay for it tomorrow.

And possibly the day after.

And maybe even the day after that!

But she didn't care. Tonight was the most fun she'd EVER had at a school dance. And she suspected Ryan felt the same way. She'd never seen him smile so much when he wasn't on-stage. And his voice was even sounding a bit strained, as was hers, from trying to be heard over the music as they taught each other their dance moves. A cold glass of punch was just what they both needed to soothe their throats and rehydrate.

As they reached the mezzanine level, Martha caught sight of Taylor alone at the refreshment table.

"Hey, Taylor," Martha greeted her friend cheerfully. "Awesome dance! And great job on the decorations -- it doesn't even LOOK like a cafeteria."

"Thanks, Martha," Taylor said, grinning at the couple. "You two look like you've been having fun."

Ryan nodded enthusiastically. "We're having a BLAST! Martha's been teaching me all these hip-hop moves," he said, starting to roll his shoulders around to the beat.

"Me?" Martha teased. "What about all the ballroom steps you've been teaching me?"

Ryan nodded smugly. "Yeah, I am a good teacher."

Taylor laughed. "We all know that, Ryan -- we would've looked like fools dancing at the midsummer talent show if it hadn't been for you."

"That's true," Ryan said in a tone that made Martha unsure if he was joking or not.

So she put her arm around him, giving him a friendly hug as she teased, "And you're modest, too."

"Guilty as charged," he said, flashing a mischievous grin.

"So why are you up here?" Taylor asked. "Shouldn't you two be downstairs cutting a rug, or a linoleum or something?"

Martha laughed. "Actually, we are desperately in need of some liquid refreshment."

Before she could pick up a cup of punch, Ryan quickly grabbed one and handed it to her gallantly. "Here, m'lady."

Martha laughed and graciously took the punch. Although it was only 7-Up mixed with fruit juice, Martha had never tasted anything so refreshing and she downed it quickly.

Taylor refilled Martha's cup, saying, "Yeah, you've gotta be careful to stay hydrated -- you don't want to have a hangover in the morning."

Ryan abruptly stopped drinking and looked warily into his cup. "What's IN here?"

Martha laughed. "No, Taylor's just saying that we'll FEEL like we have a hangover if we get dehydrated tonight."

Taylor nodded. "That's what a hangover is."

Ryan looked confused. "I thought it was when you drink too much."

"It is," Taylor said, starting to launch into a lecture about the dehydrating effects of alcohol, but Martha cut her off.

"I'll explain it to him later," she said, eager to get back to dancing.

But she needed more punch first, so she let Taylor pour her a third cup.

Suddenly Martha heard a voice behind her.

"Hot stuff, coming through -- and I don't just mean the cookies."

Chad made his way through the crowd, skirting around Martha to set the tray down on the table in front of her.

"Don't tell me YOU'RE baking now, too," Martha said, grinning at Chad.

He opened his mouth to answer, but Taylor jumped in, saying, "Yeah, the cookies are fresh from the oven. Please help yourselves."

Martha grabbed for a cookie and turned to ask her date, "Do you want one?"

But the Ryan Evans that she'd been dancing and having fun with all evening was suddenly no longer there.

In his place stood a quiet and tense boy who was staring at his feet, shifting his weight back and forth, clearly uncomfortable to be there.

"Don't you like cookies?" Martha asked, not sure what had caused such a change.

"C'mon, Ryan," Taylor encouraged. "You'll need to keep up your strength if you're going to keep dancing all night." She sighed as she added, "Hopefully Chad and I will get a chance to join you out there soon -- after Alan gets back with the ice." Turning to Chad, she continued, "You promised to show me the steps Ryan taught you this summer."

Martha noticed that Chad didn't seem to be listening -- instead, he too seemed to suddenly find the floor tiles immensely interesting.

Taylor prodded, "Remember, Chad?"

"Huh?" Chad looked up at Taylor, saying awkwardly, "Oh, yeah, I can show them to you."

Martha felt Ryan take her hand as he said curtly, "Let's go."

She smiled warmly at Taylor. "We've gotta get back to the dance floor -- Ryan…loves this song," she improvised.

But Taylor was distracted, intently watching Chad with a puzzled expression. "Okay, see you later," she said absently.

As Ryan practically dragged Martha down the stairs, she asked, "Ryan, are you okay?"

Without meeting her eyes, he merely stated, "Let's just dance."

--

Taylor held the kitchen door open as Chad carried the large glass punchbowl inside to refill it. Although Taylor could've easily carried it herself, she thought it was a good excuse to get Chad alone.

She'd so been looking forward to the dance all week, but tonight's date was turning out to be another disappointment. What had happened to the charming boy who had asked her out and flirted with her all week? Tonight Chad had seemed distracted at best and oftentimes downright grumpy.

And clearly there was something going on with him and Ryan -- they both seemed upset, withdrawing the instant they saw each other.

Taylor was determined to get to the bottom of this.

She waited until Chad had set the glass punchbowl down on the counter before she opened with, "So what's going on?"

"Nothing." Chad turned to her, confused. "I'm just helping you with the punch like you asked."

"That's not what I meant," Taylor said. "What's up with you and Ryan? Did you two have a fight or something?"

"NO!"

Chad's adamant denial made it clear that they had.

Taylor thought back over the school week, realizing that she hadn't seen the two boys talking or hanging out for days. And obviously Ryan had been upset about something, but when she'd asked Gabriella about it, her best friend had been evasive and immediately changed the subject.

"Did you two fight last weekend or something?"

"No! Why are you even talking about Ryan?"

Taylor stared at Chad. "Because YOU haven't been, and you usually do. You two became such good friends over the summer, and yet just now you wouldn't even say hi to him at the punchbowl. So what's going on?"

"Nothing!" Chad repeated vehemently. "You know how the Evanses are -- I just got sick of all his drama."

Taylor eyed Chad warily. "Ryan's not Sharpay, or at least that's what you've been saying all summer. So what happened? What changed?"

Chad shrugged. "HE changed -- why don't you ask HIM?"

Heading for the kitchen door, Chad added, "You don't need me anymore, right? I'm sure you can make a bowl of punch by yourself."

Taylor sighed frustratedly -- why wouldn't he just tell her what was wrong?

"C'mon, Chad. We're friends. If something's bothering you, then tell me so I can help."

Chad let out a bitter laugh. "There's nothing YOU can do."

"Maybe I can," Taylor insisted. "But I CAN'T help if you won't tell me what's wrong."

He shook his head, mumbling, "You don't want to know."

Taylor took hold of his hand. "Yes, I do. You and Ryan are my friends, and I don't like seeing you miserable."

"I'm NOT miserable," Chad insisted, pulling his hand away.

But Taylor wasn't buying it. "Well, you've been sulking all night."

"Well, YOU'VE been working all night," Chad snapped, "so I've been stuck sitting around watching everyone else have fun."

"Don't blame this on ME," Taylor shot back. "You KNEW I had StuCo obligations when you asked me to this dance, and you seemed fine with it until today."

"That was before I had to sit and watch THEM all night."

Taylor didn't need to ask whom he was referring to. "Ryan and Martha are having a good time tonight -- you should be happy for them."

When Chad didn't answer and merely sat there in sulky silence, a possible solution to this quandary suddenly occurred to her.

"Do you…like Martha?" She hoped she didn't sound as panicked as she felt.

"No!" Chad snorted. "Why would you even think that?"

Taylor shrugged, breathing a sigh of relief -- since she and Martha were good friends, it would've been awkward if Chad liked her.

But if Chad's problem wasn't with Martha, then that brought her back to Ryan.

She gave another sigh, feeling she was getting nowhere. "So then what's your deal?" she asked once again. "Or Ryan's deal? Or whatever? Did you do something to upset him?"

"No!" Chad snapped defensively. "All I did was ask you to the dance! HE'S the one that freaked out."

Taylor tried to make sense of this new information. Now that she thought about it, Ryan had seemed sad and upset all week, ever since Chad had asked her to the dance. And thinking back, she realized how hurt Ryan had looked every time Chad had flirted with her.

"So…does Ryan like ME?" she asked tentatively, knowing it was a stupid question but not seeing another potential solution.

"No," Chad said, looking chagrined. "Not…YOU."

It took Taylor a moment before she realized what he meant. "So…Ryan likes you?"

Chad nodded, not meeting her eyes.

Talk about awkward, Taylor thought. "Well, he knows you're not interested, right?"

Chad didn't answer, merely staring at his feet, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

Taylor was annoyed -- boys could be such idiots.

"Chad, you've got to talk to Ryan. He'll understand. Just be honest with him. You don't want to ruin your friendship over something so stupid."

Now it was Chad who gave a frustrated sigh. "Just because you're smart doesn't mean you know everything."

"Well, I know that you shouldn't lead him on if you're not interested."

"I never led him on. I was just…confused." He paused, and a shy smile crossed his face. "And then I wasn't confused. But now…." Chad sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Now I'm even more confused."

Taylor stared at Chad, unable to compute this new info. "So wait…are you saying…you like Ryan?"

"No!" he quickly insisted.

Shrugging, he hedged, "Maybe?" before staring down at his feet and admitting quietly, "Yes."

Then Chad raised his eyes to her in a look of confusion and helplessness. "I don't know!"

Taylor stood there in silence, not knowing what to say -- none of her sister's Boy Rules applied to this situation.

But now that she'd opened the door, it seemed Chad couldn't stop talking.

"Everything was so much easier this summer, just spending time together. And since Troy was busy, off doing his thing, and Sharpay was busy, off doing her thing, Ryan and I had lots of time to just hang out and be around each other. And then we had those stupid dance lessons. It just…happened. I just…had to." Chad stopped, obviously lost in the memory.

"Had to what?" Taylor prodded, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

Chad didn't seem eager to spill, mumbling something under his breath.

"What?" she asked again.

"Kiss him," Chad said quietly.

Taylor gasped so quickly that it caused her to cough. "What?!"

Chad was back to staring at his feet. "I kissed him. And then he kissed me back. And then…I just freaked. I didn't know which weirded me out more -- that I'd kissed an Evans or that it was a boy. So I…."

Taylor was too impatient to wait for him to continue. "You what?"

Chad shrugged, looking sheepishly at her as he answered, "I…took you out to the drive-in."

"You WHAT?!"

Taylor could feel her face flushing with anger. "So that debacle of a date was just a failed attempt to prove your heterosexuality? What, so you would've taken advantage of me just to prove something to yourself? I can't believe you! Even if you don't like me that way, I thought we were at least friends! But friends don't use each other like that!"

"Yeah, I know! It was stupid, and I'm sorry! But I'm not the only one who uses people, you know." He pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Did you or did you not say that you were glad you'd have 'someone tall to stand on the ladder' to help you with the stupid decorations for this dance?"

Taylor frowned. Obviously Chad had heard that from Troy, who had heard it from Gabriella. Well, she was going to put this little game of Telephone to an end! "Yes I did say that, and yes I was glad…and I already thanked you for helping me. But that's not what we're talking about -- we're talking about you throwing yourself at me last summer just because you were scared that you might like a guy."

"Nothing happened that night!" Chad insisted defensively.

"Yeah, no thanks to you!"

Taylor suddenly remembered her dreamy thoughts about Chad driving her home after the dance. "And what were your plans for tonight?" she asked. "More of the same?"

"No! I wasn't even THINKING about that."

"So what WERE you thinking?" she demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

He put up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "I was just thinking that it was a school dance and you and I would have fun -- I didn't think it would turn into such a huge deal. I mean, it's just a DANCE, right? It's not like it's a real date or anything. And it never even occurred to me to ask Ryan."

Taylor stared at Chad, trying to figure him out.

"Wait -- are you saying you and Ryan…went on a date?"

Kissing Ryan was one thing, but DATING him? Maybe this was more serious than she'd thought.

Chad nodded. "Technically we went on two, though I don't know if the second one should count, since you guys all went bowling, too."

Taylor thought back to that group outing to the bowling alley and how much fun she'd had hanging out with Chad. She'd enjoyed their competitive banter and thought that perhaps it was the start of a new relationship for them.

But apparently it'd been a new relationship for him and Ryan instead.

"So…are you guys…together?" Taylor asked hesitantly.

Chad shrugged. "Kinda?" he said, making it sound more like a question than an answer. "I mean, things were going great between us…until school started. And then this dance came along, and I asked you because…just because I did. But Ryan threw a fit, since he'd just ASSUMED we'd go together, and he's been acting like a drama queen ever since, moping around school in his stupid black clothes and his stupid sexy eyeliner, and then showing off tonight, dancing all over the place, rubbing it in my face about what a good time he's having without me. He even taught Martha to foxtrot -- that's OUR dance!"

He lowered his voice. "But I didn't mean to upset him by asking you -- I just…I mean…I guess I'm just not ready for everybody to know…whatever." Chad finished with a shrug.

Taylor could feel her anger starting to dissipate, and as it did, she began to think more clearly, realizing she needed more information in order to fix things.

"So…who DOES know?" she asked. "Does Troy know?"

Chad nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, he knows…now."

His chagrin made it clear that he felt guilty for not having told his best friend sooner. Taylor realized, though, that this was the sort of thing that could be awkward to talk about, even to your best friend. Were she in Chad's shoes, she might not feel comfortable telling Gabriella.

Gabriella!

"Gabriella knows, doesn't she?" Taylor asked.

Chad nodded. "WAY more than she probably should -- I think Ryan tells her everything." He blushed, adding sheepishly, "Well, not EVERYthing." A look of panic flashed across his face. "At least, I HOPE not!"

"Now it all makes sense," Taylor said, thinking about Gabriella's strange behavior whenever Taylor brought up her date with Chad and her evasiveness about why Ryan was upset. "But why didn't she tell me?" she asked aloud.

"Because it wasn't for her to tell," Chad said. "Gabriella definitely knows how to keep a secret -- she didn't even tell Troy. She felt it was up to me to tell him. And to tell you." He laughed as he admitted, "Actually, she was just nagging me tonight about that."

Taylor smiled. "So THAT'S why she dragged you onto the dance floor."

Chad nodded. "Yeah, you should've heard her lecture -- she's obviously been taking lessons from you!"

He gave her a teasing smile, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"So…is that it?" Taylor asked, feeling somewhat relieved that she wasn't the last person at East High to know.

"Yeah," Chad said. "That's it. Unless you count Sharpay and the Evanses."

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Sharpay knows…and you're still ALIVE?" she teased.

"Well, she was actually really cool with it…until I asked you to this dance. I've been kind of…avoiding her all week. I'm afraid of what she might have in store for me since I..."

Taylor nodded as Chad trailed off. An affront to Sharpay's twin brother was as bad as an affront to her, and even the most daredevil skater dudes at East High cowered in the face of Sharpay's wrath.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Taylor asked, already formulating possible solutions.

Chad looked confused. "About Sharpay?"

"No, not about Sharpay!" She placed both hands firmly on his shoulders. "Focus, Chad! What are you going to do about Ryan?"

Chad shrugged. "What CAN I do?"

"Well, you can start by talking to him."

"Don't you think I TRIED that?" Chad snapped back. "I tried calling him all last weekend, and he wouldn't answer or return my calls or anything. And then he shows up at school all dressed in black and acting like a jerk and he won't even LISTEN."

"So you're just gonna throw away your friendship because he's being a jerk?" Taylor asked. "You're still friends with Troy, and he was a MAJOR jerk over the summer."

Chad nodded, considering, "Yeah, that's true."

"Of course it's true. True friendships don't end that easily. And if you and Ryan are…."

Taylor trailed off. She wasn't even sure what they were anymore. Friends? More than friends? Boyfriends? It seemed so weird to think about.

She started again. "You and Ryan obviously like each other, and I know you guys care for each other, as friends if nothing else -- and that's something worth holding on to."

Chad nodded.

"So," he began tentatively, "are…WE okay?"

Taylor nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't upset, but now that she'd uncovered that missing puzzle piece, things were starting to make sense. She knew she'd get over it. Boy Rule #11 -- there are other fish in the sea.

"Of course we're okay," she said, walking over and pulling Chad into a friendly, comforting hug.

"Yo, McKessie!"

Chad and Taylor turned to see the kitchen door fly open and Alan stick his head inside.

"Stop making out with your date and hurry up with the punch -- I didn't go buy all that ice just for my own amusement."

"Oh, whatever, Alan," Taylor said, annoyed that her conversation with Chad was being interrupted. "We'll be out in a minute."

Alan slammed the kitchen door shut behind him, leaving Chad and Taylor alone once again.

"So…," Taylor said.

"So…? Chad asked.

"So…you need to go talk to Ryan."

"Oh yeah," Chad said sarcastically, "I'm just gonna walk out onto the dance floor and talk to Ryan in front of everybody!"

"Hmm, good point," Taylor admitted, chewing her lower lip as she considered their options.

She then got a mischievous glint in her eye as she declared, "I think I have a better idea."

--

Chad watched with some trepidation as Taylor purposely led Martha off towards the girls' restroom. He couldn't believe he'd agreed to let Taylor fill Martha in, but as he couldn't come up with any other way to get Ryan alone, he'd finally consented. He was surprised Taylor was willing to help him at all, especially after he'd taken her out on not one but TWO disastrous "dates"; considering the circumstances, he felt he was getting off easy.

But that still didn't mean he was comfortable with the idea of yet another Wildcat learning the truth about him.

Chad watched from a distance as Ryan followed behind the girls, stopping to get a long drink of water from the fountain when they disappeared into the restroom together.

With Ryan finally alone for the first time all night, Chad hurried over to him, but once there, he wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Hey," was all that came out.

Ryan turned his head to see who was there, but when he saw it was Chad, he rolled his eyes and resumed drinking.

Chad took a deep breath, knowing he needed to say more. At this very moment Taylor was no doubt telling Martha everything, so the least he could do was to try to "communicate his feelings" as Taylor had instructed him to.

"So...uh...Evans -- can we talk?" Chad asked hesitantly.

Ryan straightened up from the fountain and fixed Chad with a hard glare. "What's to talk about?" he asked before turning on his heels and disappearing into the boys' room.

Chad merely stood there a moment, equal parts hurt and pissed off, before storming in after the other boy.

"Don't be like that," Chad said as he marched over to where Ryan was starting to unbutton the fly of his pinstriped jeans.

Without a word, Ryan turned and walked into one of the stalls, slamming the door shut behind him.

"C'mon, Evans!" When there was no reply, his voice softened. "Please, Ryan -- we need to talk."

"About what?" Ryan's tone was angry through the door of the stall. "Did you just give your girlfriend your class ring or something? Is that why Taylor was so eager to talk to Martha? And now you want to gloat about it to me?"

"No!" Chad snapped back. "Don't be stupid. You know I don't even like her that way."

"Could've fooled me, the way you've been flirting with her all week."

"I was only flirting with her to get back at you," Chad said, surprised at how angry he sounded.

The toilet flushed, and Chad jumped back surprised as the other stall door opened. Scott Michaels walked out of the stall, eyeing Chad suspiciously before walking out of the bathroom.

Chad was mortified that someone had overheard their conversation. And since things were liable to get even more personal, Chad hurried over to the outer door of the restroom and turned the deadbolt. At least now they were ensured of some privacy.

When Chad turned back from the door, Ryan had exited his stall and was washing his hands. Turning from the sink, he repeated coldly, "Get back at me? For what? I'm not the one who asked out Taylor."

A part of Chad was so happy to have Ryan alone again that he wanted to throw caution to the wind and kiss him like there was no tomorrow.

But a part of him was still pissed that Ryan was acting like such a drama queen.

"Look, I already apologized about asking out Taylor," Chad said, even though technically he knew this wasn't quite true. "But you're the one who over-reacted and shut me out. And yeah, I admit maybe I was trying to make you jealous. But at least I didn't completely rub it in your face like you tonight. I can't believe you taught Martha our dance!"

It took a moment for the look of confusion on Ryan's face to turn to bemusement. "You mean the foxtrot? I'd hardly call that 'our' dance. It's been around for over a hundred years. They even do it on _Dancing with the Stars_, which was why Martha was so eager to learn it."

"Yeah, but..."

Chad suddenly felt stupid. He now realized that Ryan teaching her that dance had had nothing to do with him.

Which was good, in a way. Because it meant that Ryan's joy this evening hadn't merely been manufactured just to manipulate him -- Ryan's joy on the dance floor had been genuine.

Considering how his own date had gone, Chad was glad that at least SOMEONE had enjoyed the evening.

"Look," Chad began, but Ryan put up his hand to stop him.

"I get it," Ryan said, his voice sounding less cold and more dejected. "We had some fun this summer, and now it's over. I get that now, and I'll get over it. It's...it's just gonna take me some time," he said sadly, his voice almost cracking.

Chad hated to see Ryan so sad, and hated even more that he was the cause. He put a gentle hand on the other boy's cheek and met his sad blue eyes.

"You didn't let me finish," Chad said.

Ryan stared at him, and Chad took a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts, realizing that if he said the wrong thing now, he could lose Ryan forever.

"I screwed up," Chad began. "I was freaking out 'cuz I just wasn't ready for people to know. But I'd rather the whole school know than for us to be like this." He removed his hand from Ryan's cheek in order to gesture vaguely between them. "This! This...not talking to each other, not being friends, not being...together. I WANT us to be together. And if people have to know, then...I guess they'll have to know."

He paused before finishing, "And I guess I'm okay with that."

As he said the words aloud, he realized that they were true. Being with Ryan meant enough to him that he was okay with other people knowing about it.

But Chad suddenly worried that maybe being with him didn't mean enough to Ryan. And if that was the case...

Chad never even finished the thought, for Ryan's lips were suddenly on his.

It was a short kiss, but it spoke volumes.

"So," Ryan said coyly as they parted, "you realize you're gonna have to tell Taylor."

Chad smiled smugly. "I already did -- and she's next door right now telling Martha."

Ryan's jaw dropped in surprise.

Chad attempted a nonchalant shrug but realized his self-satisfied grin probably ruined the effect.

"It was MY idea, too...well, partly anyway. But I figured it was the only way I could get you alone and off that dance floor long enough to--"

Ryan pushed him against the wall and covered Chad's mouth with his, stopping him mid-sentence.

Chad could no longer remember what he'd been about to say.

And he didn't even care.

--

Eleanor Darbus yawned and absently looked up at the clock on the cafeteria wall. It was almost 11:15pm! She yawned again, wondering how much longer the students were going to be -- she was looking forward to falling into bed and sleeping off this first full week of school.

Of course, it was her own fault that she was still here. Not being a Student Council sponsor, she could've left immediately after the dance like the other chaperones. But Eleanor had taken pity on the two StuCo sponsors and volunteered to stay on in their stead. After all, Irene had a baby to get home to and Coach Moore had a cross country meet early in the morning, whereas Eleanor had a free weekend stretching out in front of her, the last one she'd have before play practices started next week.

So Eleanor was eager to get this last weekend of freedom started.

"Ms. McKessie," Eleanor said, approaching the girl in charge, "how much longer do you think you'll be?"

Taylor turned to face her teacher, not releasing her grip on the ladder she was steadying.

"We're almost done, Ms. Darbus. These are the last of the streamers, and we're almost done with the chairs." She nodded towards her fellow StuCo members who were stacking the remaining folding chairs onto a cart. "Maybe…10 more minutes?" she guessed.

Eleanor nodded -- that would get her out of here by 11:30 and home in bed by midnight. That wasn't too bad -- she knew she'd be up much later during the upcoming tech rehearsals.

Martha descended the ladder, shaking her head.

"We've got to move the ladder closer, Taylor -- I can't quite reach them."

Martha then turned towards her teacher, adding, "Hey, Ms. Darbus. Did you enjoy the dance tonight?"

Eleanor smiled. "Not as much as you and Ryan, it seems."

She had enjoyed watching the odd couple kick up their heels all night. After Ryan's depression earlier in the week, Eleanor had been thrilled to see the boy thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Yeah, we had a blast," Martha agreed as she and Taylor carefully shifted the tall ladder over closer to the last bunch of streamers.

"I think that'll be good," she said, scurrying up the ladder while Taylor steadied it once again.

As Eleanor watched the girl ascend, she suddenly realized who was missing.

"Where's Mr. Danforth?" Eleanor asked, looking around the nearly empty cafeteria. It had been so nice to see the tall jock helping to hang streamers after school -- she'd been impressed that he'd finally taken an interest in something other than that round orange football of his.

Taylor and Martha shared a look.

"He's…uh…," Taylor began.

"Busy," Martha finished for her as she reached the bottom of the ladder once again, crumpling together in her hands the streamers and tape she'd just torn down.

Taylor and Martha shared another knowing look before Taylor repeated, "Yeah, he's busy."

She then turned to Eleanor, asking, "Ms. Darbus, would you mind helping Martha take down the ladder and putting it back in the theatre? I want to check and make sure everything else is finished."

"Why, I'd be happy to help," Eleanor said as Taylor hurried off towards the chair crew, who were now wheeling the folded chairs away.

Eleanor and Martha carefully folded the ladder together, and Martha walked forward as they tipped the ladder down sideways. Then they started off down the hallway towards the theatre.

"You're quite a dancer, Ms. Cox," Eleanor said as they carried the ladder through the empty hallways. "You should consider auditioning for the winter musicale."

Martha nodded. "Ryan said the same thing. But I have Scholastic Decathlon at that time, too, and I don't think I can manage both." She turned her head to smile back at her teacher as she added, "But Ryan can be pretty persuasive, so who knows -- maybe you will see me at auditions."

The two of them safely delivered the ladder to the theatre, and by the time they returned to the cafeteria, the only person left was Taylor, who was looking around and checking things off her clipboard.

"I think that's it, Ms. Darbus," Taylor said, triumphantly checking the last thing off on her list. "Now we just need to hit the lights, lock the door, and we're done."

"Another success for the Student Council," Eleanor said grandly as she went to grab her purse from where she'd stashed it.

"Goodnight, Ms. Darbus," the two girls called back to their teacher as she locked up the doors behind them.

"Goodnight, girls. See you Monday."

As Eleanor headed out into the parking lot, she saw only three cars remaining -- her 14-year-old Geo Metro, a red Toyota Corolla, and Ryan's bright yellow Mustang convertible.

Watching from a distance as the two girls approached the convertible, Eleanor wondered why Ryan had stayed out here instead of coming inside to help take down the decorations.

And then she watched as the answer got out of Ryan's car. Chad said goodnight to Ryan and Martha and, taking Taylor's hand, walked over to the red car.

'Busy, huh?' Eleanor thought to herself. Smiling, she climbed into her car and headed for home.

THE END


End file.
